Improve quality and diversify rice market

With the news that the Philippines and Indonesia have temporarily stopped importing rice since early September, Vietnam's rice export market is forecast to be affected in the short term. However, thanks to the smooth operation of the domestic production-consumption chain and timely guidance from ministries, branches and localities, this market remains stable, and solutions to stabilize prices and expand consumption channels continue to be strengthened.

With the news that the Philippines and Indonesia have temporarily stopped importing rice since early September, Vietnam's rice export market is forecast to be affected in the short term. However, thanks to the smooth operation of the domestic production-consumption chain and timely guidance from ministries, branches and localities, this market remains stable, and solutions to stabilize prices and expand consumption channels continue to be strengthened.

The rice market remains stable thanks to timely guidance and solutions to stabilize and expand consumption channels.

Have a suitable production and business plan

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has just issued a statement about the Philippines and Indonesia temporarily suspending milled rice imports for 60 days, but it is not expected to have a major impact on the Vietnamese rice market.

The reason is that the domestic production-consumption chain is still operating stably, national reserves are promptly participating in regulation and export opportunities are being expanded to many new markets.

In Vinh Long , the Department of Industry and Trade has sent a document to enterprises trading and exporting rice.

Mr. Pham Phuoc Trai - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade said: "Enterprises need to be calm and cautious in all situations. Absolutely avoid being hasty, subjective or indifferent to new developments in international trade policy. In addition, we must proactively develop appropriate production and business plans, diversify consumption channels to disperse risks and increase adaptability."

The Department of Industry and Trade also encourages businesses to increase the purchase and temporary storage of rice for farmers and strictly implement the regulations in Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 01/2025/ND-CP on rice export business.

Hong Tan Rice Company Limited (Tan Ngai Ward) is currently cultivating about 280 hectares of organic and safe rice, with a yield of 5-6 tons/hectare in the Summer-Autumn crop. This company is promoting the consumption of 10 rice products at supermarkets, convenience stores, and agents; at the same time, it is cooperating to implement projects to export organic rice to Asian and European countries.

According to Ms. Luu Thi Yen Hang - Director of the company, about 1 month ago, rice prices had a short-term decrease but quickly recovered thanks to the purchasing activities of traders and the national reserve program. At this time, the company purchases high-quality rice at about 7,500 VND/kg, and regular rice at about 6,000 VND/kg.

“Enterprises are willing to accompany farmers, but they really need policies to support capital sources. Some enterprises are hesitant to purchase due to financial difficulties, while storage requires high costs for storage, labor, transportation, etc. If there is a suitable source of capital, enterprises will be more bold in purchasing for temporary storage, creating stable output for farmers,” Ms. Hang shared.

Ms. Hang also said that it is necessary to encourage enterprises to do deep processing to create more value-added products from rice grains, thereby expanding domestic supply channels and "managing" when the international market fluctuates.

At the same time, businesses also hope to be facilitated to participate in trade promotion programs, connect supply and demand and expand markets, in order to seek more cooperation opportunities and diversify product output.

Encourage quality improvement and diversification of export markets

In fact, rice prices in many localities are showing signs of increasing compared to half a month ago. A week ago, fresh OM5451 rice from the Summer-Autumn and Autumn-Winter crops was purchased by traders at 5,100-5,600 VND/kg, OM18 and Dai Thom 8 rice reached 5,700-5,800 VND/kg, an increase of 100-200 VND/kg compared to before.

Rice prices increased thanks to increased purchasing activities, especially after the Prime Minister issued a dispatch on strengthening the implementation of tasks and solutions to promote production, export and stabilize the rice market.

However, rice prices are still lower than the same period last year, making it difficult for farmers to achieve expected profits.

The authorities encourage the application of safe production processes, traceability and diversification of rice varieties.

Mr. Ta Van Khen (Hieu Phung commune) said: “Last season, I sold OM5451 rice for only 5,000 VND/kg, a decrease of more than 2,000 VND/kg compared to last year. Recently, the price has increased, but most of the farmers have sold all their rice, so they did not benefit. The rice crop was good, but the profit was low because the cost of materials increased.”

Meanwhile, retail rice prices are stable. According to Ms. Ngo Thi Ngoc Mai, a trader at Vinh Long market, the price of regular rice is as low as 13,000-16,000 VND/kg; long-grain Thai fragrant rice is 20,000-22,000 VND/kg; jasmine rice is 22,000 VND/kg. Specialty rice such as Taiwanese fragrant rice, ST24, ST25 is sold at 20,000-40,000 VND/kg.

"Compared to before, prices have increased slightly for some types of delicious rice, while common rice prices are generally stable," said Ms. Mai.

The Department of Industry and Trade continues to closely coordinate with ministries, branches and industry associations to promptly inform businesses and support the expansion and diversification of export markets.

At the same time, according to Mr. Pham Phuoc Trai, the industry promotes domestic supply-demand connection, encourages businesses to step up purchasing and temporary storage, contributing to stabilizing prices and ensuring benefits for farmers.

In addition to the orientation of improving quality, encouraging businesses to apply safe production processes, trace the origin and diversify rice varieties. Trade promotion activities and participation in new consumption channels on digital platforms are also considered important solutions to increase export value.

According to the Provincial People's Committee, by the end of August, the Summer-Autumn crop had sown 110,489 hectares, reaching 100.44% of the plan and harvested more than 10,000 hectares with a yield of nearly 237,000 tons. The Autumn-Winter crop had sown 14,798 hectares, reaching 25.64% of the plan. This is the basis for ensuring supply, serving export and domestic consumption. The province aims to continue focusing on Autumn-Winter rice production in conjunction with the plan to stabilize the rice market. The authorities recommend that farmers comply with the crop calendar, combining appropriate intercropping and rotation models.

Article and photos: THAO TIEN

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/thi-truong/202509/nang-chat-luong-da-dang-thi-truong-lua-gao-d440860/