What should Vietnam do to have more ST25?

Vietnam has many delicious rice products but they are not known yet partly because they have not built a good brand, have not chosen a suitable path, so they do not have a position in the market, and have not been introduced to domestic and foreign customers.

Customers choose ST25 rice at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: QUANG DINH

Mr. Do Ha Nam , Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), affirmed this when talking to Tuoi Tre about the event of Vietnam's ST25 rice being named "World's Best Rice" for the third time at the 17th Global Rice Trade Conference which took place on November 9.

Mr. Nam said: Winning an award is the fastest way to introduce a brand to domestic and foreign consumers. However, market positioning is also very necessary, so that not only Vietnamese but also foreign consumers choose to buy ST25 rice.

* Why do you continue to choose ST25 rice to compete? Is it because Vietnam doesn't have other good rice, sir?

- Vietnam has a lot of delicious rice, but we have not built a brand, the commercial value is not enough and the ability to degenerate the variety is fast. With industrial products, releasing a few new products each year is normal, but for agriculture it is not easy.

Mr. Do Ha Nam

To build an outstanding agricultural product, a brand known worldwide is a story of customs, market making... even having to continuously introduce for 5 - 10 years to create an impression in the hearts of consumers, thereby creating a market.

Even ST25 is still a product that is not known to many consumers in many countries, even in Vietnam not everyone uses or knows about it. Therefore, when there is no product worthy of replacing it, continuing to choose ST25 to compete alongside other varieties is necessary, so choose the best possible one.

* With three awards, how does ST25 contribute to helping raise the level of the rice industry in particular, as well as Vietnam's agricultural industry in general?

- In fact, rice producing countries such as Thailand, India, Cambodia... all have outstanding varieties, creating brands with customers.

Therefore, the success of ST25 is a very good signal for Vietnamese agriculture, helping many customers around the world know about it. This is a valuable point that we have not had for a long time.

What is needed is that each business should try to create sustainability and have a long-term strategy to further enhance a product.

In fact, Vietnam has many delicious rice products, but they have not been successful partly because they have not built a good brand, have not chosen the right path, so they do not have a position in the market to introduce to domestic and foreign customers.

* How can businesses better market their products after winning the award?

- Any famous product that operates alone will find it difficult to be sustainable and grow, so behind it is a great need for support from the Government, departments, and associations.

Support here can build a separate, specific mechanism for national products. The more specific the support mechanism is, the more opportunities there are for industries to develop.

If we want to do well and succeed in global trade, we must first consider ST25 as a truly national product and treat it differently.

Besides, if you want to do good trade, you also need an organization or business to go along with you to connect and support trade and market to the whole world.

A famous brand is only a necessary condition, but if you want to have a good branded product, global trade must meet all the necessary conditions. The important thing is that the producer of the desired breed and product chooses which direction.

At the 17th Global Rice Trade Conference organized by The Rice Trader (TRT) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 9, Vietnam's ST25 rice and Cambodia's Phka Romdoul rice both won first prize in the "World's Best Rice" contest in 2025.

Thus, this is the third time that ST25 rice has been crowned king at the "World's Best Rice" contest, the previous two times in 2019 and 2023. It is known that this year's contest has many countries sending rice to compete, including host Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Australia, Philippines...

There must be a mechanism to protect big brands.

According to Mr. Do Ha Nam, any product that is of interest to consumers and a business that has high profits, it is understandable that it will be counterfeited and faked a lot. Therefore, the State should have more mechanisms to support businesses and protect big brands.

In addition, the enterprise itself can protect itself by building its own distribution system, having its own network, because in reality, it is difficult to control through many intermediaries. Besides, there are many reputable retail systems and supermarkets in and outside the country, which strictly control the problem of counterfeit and fake goods.

If necessary, manufacturers can link with these units to bring products to market, in return the supplier must spend a large amount of money to pay fees and provide a stable output of products.

NGUYEN TRI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viet-nam-can-lam-gi-de-co-them-nhieu-st25-20251113061435604.htm