Professor Võ Tòng Xuân believes that Vietnamese rice is gaining momentum thanks to new varieties, a factor that Thai and Indian rice lack. For the sustainable and long-term development of Vietnam's rice industry, there needs to be a diversification of rice types, with each enterprise having its own material area.

"Rice prices in 2024 will remain high."

At the seminar "Long-term Solutions for Rice Exports" on January 9, Vietnamese agricultural expert Professor Võ Tòng Xuân recalled the event where ST25 rice was awarded the world's best rice prize for the first time in 2019 in the Philippines. At that time, he affirmed that Vietnamese rice was no less than Thai rice.

"The history of Vietnam producing rice dates back to 1860, and we have exported rice, but mainly through regional traders rather than direct exports. Currently, there are more traders from Europe, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Macau, etc., who classify export rice into two types. One is fragrant, long-grain rice from Thailand; the other is white, delicious rice.

Vietnam's white rice can be exported for about 250 - 300 USD (per ton), while Thai fragrant rice is priced at 800 - 900 USD. This is because they know that Thailand produces rice only once a year, during the rainy season, with low yield, and thus they have to buy at 800 USD," said Professor Võ Tòng Xuân.

According to the expert, Vietnamese rice can now be sold at 600 - 700 USD/ton, even higher than Thai rice, because of new varieties that are cheap but still delicious. Thai short-term rice is not as fragrant as Vietnamese rice. This is not necessarily due to the impact of climate change on India or Thailand but because Vietnamese rice has improved thanks to new varieties, something that Thai and Indian rice do not have. Therefore, rice prices in 2024 will continue to remain high.

Sharing this view, Mr. Phạm Thái Bình, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (HNX: TAR), affirmed that the current high price of Vietnamese rice compared to Thai rice is not by chance.

"In 2024, rice prices could be better as Vietnam takes advantage of market opportunities and demand remains high. The global context is lacking rice, and while we also face climate change, it is less severe, allowing us to increase production. This is not just a heaven-sent opportunity but also an internal strength.

The high price of Vietnamese rice compared to Thai rice is not a stroke of luck but a result of real investment. Vietnam surpasses Thailand in short-term, high-quality rice varieties," said Mr. Bình.

What are the long-term solutions for Vietnam's rice industry?

At the seminar, Mr. Lê Thanh Tùng, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (MARD), Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Rice Industry Association, stated that in 2023, the government did not decide to ban rice exports amidst international market tensions, proving that Vietnam still ensures domestic food security and increases exports.

In 2023, rice farmers in localities achieved double profits due to low material costs and rising rice prices. However, Mr. Tùng warned that nothing is certain in 2024.

"If rice prices fall like in 2021 - 2022, farmers will still benefit. I hope that if rice prices rise to 1,000 USD/ton, not only farmers will profit but businesses too. All elements in the chain should be profitable, even if not equally," Mr. Tùng hoped.

Overall, Mr. Tùng believes that Vietnam has greatly improved its rice varieties, and the ST25 variety is a thousand-year achievement. The proposal for 1 million hectares of high-quality, mechanized rice, using good varieties, with production processes from organic, GlobalGAP, VietGAP, and linkage issues are solutions for high-quality rice.

In the context of rice shortages in other countries, Vietnam is ready to supply at market prices, but Mr. Tùng noted that farmers in the Mekong Delta are producing rice with many requirements, ensuring food security but not income security.

Focusing on rice exports, the main issue remains the farmers. Mr. Tùng emphasized that whether Vietnam exports rice at 600 USD or 1,000 USD/ton, the main effort is from the farmers. Additionally, it involves the efforts of businesses and resources, and infrastructure...

Meanwhile, Mr. Võ Tòng Xuân pointed out that current issues arise because businesses compete for buying and selling. The reason is that Vietnam does not have a floor price for export rice, so while traders spend money to place high-price deposits to buy farmers' rice, businesses without material areas want to sell rice but cannot offer prices as high as traders.

Without a floor price, businesses want to sell at this price, but international traders say other businesses sell at lower prices. To solve this problem, Professor Xuân suggested that businesses sign contracts for one year or multiple years to prepare. Vietnam, unaffected by climate change, always has rice, securing it first in the company and signing contracts between farmers and businesses.

With the current issues, this expert suggested that the market needs to be organized, and the rice market share should be divided for export or domestic sale. If so, businesses will gradually stop competing for buying and selling, and each business will have its material area. This is the future path for Vietnam's rice to continue sustainable development.

According to Mr. Phạm Thanh Bình, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TAR, the long-term solution for Vietnam's rice industry is the "large field," meaning the linkage between businesses and farmers - mutually beneficial; the proposal for 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, if successfully implemented, will benefit both farmers and businesses.

Regarding building a brand for Vietnamese rice, Mr. Phùng Văn Thành, Vietnam's trade counselor in the Philippines, said that Vietnam is the number one rice partner of the Philippines. Vietnamese rice has the quality and price suitable for the people of this country, from the poor to high-income earners. However, this advantage was for previous years. Currently, Vietnamese rice prices are high, so we must reassess competitiveness.

According to Mr. Thành, the Philippine market still has a lot of room for Vietnamese rice to exploit. Vietnamese businesses have had long-term relationships with import partners here and are geographically close to the Philippines. Therefore, it is necessary to plan production areas according to market demand and link material areas. Vietnamese rice exporters need to maintain the Philippine market while expanding new markets.

Source: Vietstock