Mekong Delta to Boost Rice Export

 

The Mekong Delta makes up 12 per cent of the territory of Vietnam, 31 per cent of agricultural land, the biggest rice granary of Vietnam, 51 per cent of paddy output and 80-90 per cent of rice export. According to Dr. Vo Thi Thanh Loc, Deputy Director of Development Consulting Centre, Mekong Delta Development Institute, even with the application of science and technology in recent years, the rice production failed to get out of small-scale causing high production cost and low added value. Though each year, the Mekong Delta produces nearly 20 million tonnes of paddy and exports millions tonnes of rice putting Vietnam among world leading rice exporters, the living conditions of farmers and agricultural revenue and growth remain low. Ms. Loc said that among several causes, the most critical lies in the supply and value chain causing high production cost and low quality, poor brand and less competitiveness compared to Thailand rice. The supply chain lacks coordination between producers, processors, distributors and consumers to ensure stable quality and high reputation in the market. It is indeed a big challenge for Vietnam in exporting and importing rice as WTO member.

 

In fact, in recent years, when Vietnam had bumper crops, the rice price fell. It showed a poor link between producers and distributors. Meanwhile, there were also shortfalls in processing and trading. According to Bui Van Ngo Co., Ltd, the constraints are small-scale production, unplanned and diversified in varieties, small budget for drying, storage (only 0.7 per cent to total value), without processing by-products such as rice bran for essence, rice husk for power generation and building materials. Unstable quality reduces export price US$30-40 per tonne less than that of Thailand rice. The export of high quality rice remains small.

 

Brand needed
According to experts, to increase the competitiveness of Mekong Delta rice and Vietnamese rice in general, both price and quality are important. To this end, the whole process must be carried out successfully, from harvesting, post-harvest and processing (the current post-harvest loss 13-16 per cent compared to 7-10 per cent in Thailand), improving the quality (80 per cent of rice processed by small enterprises without efficient equipment for drying and storing, while Thailand has 90 per cent of rice processed in large-scale factories ensuring higher quality).

Another weakness is the lack of a brand for Vietnamese rice equivalent to Jasmine rice of Thailand and Basmati rice of India and Pakistan. Therefore, Vietnam must develop a brand for its rice. This requires joint efforts in quality improvement, marketing strategy, market survey, distribution network and trading policy. Regarding brand management, there must be specialized staff to ensure the brand identity and file.

In addition, to ensure the competitiveness, we must develop joint-stock companies with shareholders from farmers, processors, traders and scientists. The companies will produce high quality rice with famous brand exporting to all markets.