The case of not buying rice in the 1 million hectare project in Can Tho due to the invalid economic contract?

In the 2025 Winter-Spring rice crop, Tien Thuan Cooperative in Can Tho City piloted the project "1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta", but when harvested, the rice was not purchased by the associated enterprise (Hoang Minh Nhat Joint Stock Company), even though the two units had previously signed an economic contract.

Regarding the article "A business in Can Tho did not buy rice in the cooperative's 1 million hectare project, why?", according to Dan Viet reporters' investigation, previously, the business and the cooperative signed an economic contract to buy and sell fresh rice for all 3 crops: Summer-Fall 2024, Fall-Winter 2024 and Winter-Spring 2024-2025.

Hoang Minh Nhat Joint Stock Company and Tien Thuan Agricultural Cooperative in Can Tho signed an economic contract to consume rice in the pilot model of the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta. Photo: HX

According to the content of the economic contract signed between Hoang Minh Nhat Joint Stock Company and Tien Thuan Agricultural Cooperative, the company will purchase all the rice in the pilot model of the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta (referred to as the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice) at a price of 7,050 VND/kg.

Tien Thuan agricultural cooperative must use OM5451 variety, cultivate according to the process of the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project, not use toxic chemicals, or abuse chemicals in cultivation. Freshly harvested rice has firm grains, high purity, low mixed rice, few young green grains, no grass seeds, few impurities...

If the green seeds have a ratio of 7:3, damaged seeds are over 3%, impurities are over 5% of the weight, and sticky rice is over 2%, the business will not purchase.

When the harvest begins, both parties will take representative rice samples for testing. If the rice meets the standards specified in the contract appendix and has a certificate of emission reduction according to the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project, the final purchase price will be added 300 VND/kg.

The economic contract also clearly states that if prices fluctuate abnormally, affecting the purchase, the two parties will discuss and agree on the specific price and delivery quantity.

Thus, the economic contract clearly stipulates the responsibilities of both parties. However, when discussing this issue with reporters, the two units almost did not care about the previous contract.

Specifically, Mr. Nguyen Cao Khai - Director of Tien Thuan Cooperative said that the contract is only seasonal in nature and is not binding.

This is also the reason why when there was a product (ripe rice), the cooperative sold it to outside traders when it could not contact the company representative to sign the economic contract. And after the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring rice was sold out to outside traders, the cooperative did not say anything about the contract with the company.

Regarding the above incident, Mr. Nguyen Van Nhut - General Director of Hoang Minh Nhat Joint Stock Company also said that the coordination between the two sides "is not stable, not binding". In case of continuing cooperation, the two sides need to sit down and discuss more closely, ensuring the harmony of interests of all parties.

As Dan Viet reported, in the recent 2025 Winter-Spring rice crop, Tien Thuan Cooperative (Thanh An commune, Vinh Thanh district, Can Tho city) continued to pilot the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project.

However, when harvesting rice, instead of selling to the affiliated company implementing the project, Tien Thuan cooperative had to sell to outside traders.

"At the time of rice harvest, I called the staff in charge of the raw material area of ​​the enterprise to agree on the time and purchasing plan but received no response. I was afraid that the rice would ripen too late, so I had to sell the rice to outside traders," said Mr. Khai.

According to Mr. Khai, in the 2025 Winter-Spring rice crop, the cooperative will grow 50 hectares of OM 5451 rice according to the project, with a yield of 8.6-9 tons/ha and a selling price of 5,700 VND/kg (equivalent to the outside market price).

Responding to the reason for not buying rice from the cooperative, Mr. Nhut said that the reason for not buying rice for Tien Thuan cooperative in the Winter-Spring crop was because the purchasing pressure was too great, so the purchasing arrangement was passive.

In addition, there are a number of other reasons, including the lack of close coordination and support between enterprises and cooperatives.

According to the reporter's investigation, in the Summer-Autumn and Autumn-Winter rice crops of 2024, due to many reasons from both sides, rice produced according to the pilot model of the Tien Thuan cooperative project is still not completely purchased by Hoang Minh Nhat Joint Stock Company.

Tien Thuan Cooperative is the first unit in Can Tho City to pilot the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project and Hoang Minh Nhat Joint Stock Company was selected by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho City (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City) to cooperate in the project as a rice buyer.

This is also a place often chosen to organize seminars, introduce models for domestic and foreign agricultural sectors to visit, learn and exchange experiences.

In the 2025 Summer-Autumn crop, Tien Thuan Cooperative will still follow the production process of the 1 million hectare rice project. However, it will only produce rice seeds, not commercial rice for sale to businesses serving rice exports.

Source: https://danviet.vn/vu-khong-mua-lua-trong-de-an-1-trieu-ha-o-can-tho-do-hop-dong-kinh-te-khong-co-gia-tri-20250328092624282.htm