Vietnamese rice needs an int’l brand name

VietNamNet Bridge - Although Vietnam is one of the three largest rice exporters in the world, its rice prices are lower than Thailand’s. Experts say Vietnamese rice has no brand name and its quality is inconsistent.

In the domestic market, branded rice on supermarket shelves is 20 percent more expensive than that offered at street kiosks. To increase rice prices, experts say Vietnam needs to build a brand name for its rice in line with international standards. 

Richard Moore, a well-known brand expert, says producers need to pour more investment into marketing, packaging and trading services if they want to increase their rice prices. He cites Thailand as a role model in building a brand name for its rice. It tops the list of global rice exporters and its prices are higher than Vietnam’s.

Hermawan Kartajaya, president of the World Marketing Association, says Vietnam has not yet found out any distinctive characteristics of its rice to make it identifiable to consumers and help them distinguish between Vietnamese rice and the rice of Thailand or China. Once consumers prefer a branded product, the price is no longer a matter of concern, he says.

The bottom line is to create close links between exporters and farmers, increase product quality, build a brand name and expand export markets.

According to the Vietnam Food Association, rice exports will face many challenges in 2010, requiring close links between producers and traders. To increase the quality and build a brand name, businesses have no choice but to work closely with farmers to develop commercial farming areas.

The Mekong delta province of An Giang, which has the largest rice output, is taking the lead in developing a brand name for its rice. Many of its businesses have teamed up with farmers to build a brand name. The An Giang Import-Export Company (Agimex) established a joint venture with a Japanese company in 1990 to grow and purchase rice. Agimex-Kitoku has increased its cultivated area from an initial 40ha to 1,870ha at present. Over the past five years, the joint venture has made a profit and its brand - Agimex-Kitoku - has become known to consumers.

Bac Lieu - another Mekong delta province - has succeeded in promoting the brand Mot Bui Do Hong Dan for its rice. Currently, it is cultivating this rice variety on 18,722ha in Hong Dan and Phuoc Long districts.

Last year, Mot Bui Do Hong Dan rice was granted an geographical indication (GI) by the Intellectual Property Agency under the Ministry of Science and Technology. The certificate is expected to open up opportunities for Bac Lieu to export this kind of rice. Recently, the province signed a contract worth VND375 billion to ship 25,000 tonnes of its rice to the European market.

Meanwhile, the Mekong delta province of Soc Trang has succeeded in crossbreeding special varieties such as ST3, ST5 and ST10 which are a favourite with domestic and foreign consumers. These varieties are offered at between VND15,000-17,000/kg – a higher price than the normal varieties command.

The province has zoned commercial farming areas for these hybrid varieties in Nga Nam, My Tu, Thanh Tri and Ke Sach districts, intending to increase the existing area of 30,000ha to 50,000ha by the end of this year and 100,000ha in the next 10 years.

Farmers in the Mekong River Delta – the country’s largest rice granary – hope that these zoning and development plans will help increase Vietnamese rice’s competitive edge in the world market.