Following the success of the first Vietnam Rice Festival held in Hau Giang province, the second festival will take place in Soc Trang province on November 8-14. With a series of various and practical activities, the second festival is to honour Vietnam’s rice; to connect rice producers, processors and traders and to glorify the brand of Vietnamese rice in the world market. Reporter My Chau interviews Mr Vo Minh Chien, Party Secretary of Soc Trang and Head of Second Rice Festival Organizing Board, about the event.
Which is the outstanding point of the Vietnam Rice Festival 2011? How many enterprises have registered for the event so far?
The Vietnam Rice Festival 2011 is an economic, cultural and social and tourism event to advertise the brand of Soc Trang rice in particular and of Vietnam’s rice in general.
With the themes “Green environment for the golden rice field” and “Honoring Vietnam’s rice”, the festival this time will include displays, exhibitions, fairs, seminars and scientific workshops; activities to promote investment, trade and business relations among domestic and foreign partners; cultural and sports activities which are typical of the western south and Soc Trang province.
The major purpose of the Rice Festival is to advertise and introduce the history as well as tangible and intangible achievements of the wet rice civilization in Mekong River Delta region and in Vietnam to the people and foreign friends. By doing that, Vietnam can boost production, trading, and export of rice products, helping to raise the status of Vietnam’s rice in both domestic and international markets; set up and develop the relationship among relevant parties of the sector; expand the system of production and distribution and improve the life of growers.
For such a purpose, the festival organizing board expects agencies, domestic and foreign organizations as well as the community of enterprises at the festival to possibly honor Vietnam’s rice products, towards building and strengthening the Vietnam rice brand in the world market.
Particularly, the festival coincides with the ethnic Khmer people’s Ooc Om Boc boat race festival. Thus, the scale and number of activities this time is very big and various.
The organizing board is promoting preparations and calling on more enterprises to join the festival. So far there have had 350 firms in registration and the figure is expected to increase to over 850.
How is the advertising work of the second Vietnam Rice Festival boosted abroad? What support will enterprises receive from the organizing board?
In parallel with preparing for the festival, the communication and advertisement work have been promoted urgently. We have built a website at address
www.festivalluagaoVietnam.vn as well as send information on the event to more than three million email addresses.
Besides the information updated continuously on the festival’s website and in media, we have also worked with many general consulates in Vietnam to introduce the event and provide the information on potentials of Mekong River Delta region in general as well as Soc Trang in particular.
So far this year, 20 countries and territories have agreed to join the festival including India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Holland, Chile, Russia, Thailand, Canada, the US and Indonesia. Foreign partners will contribute gastronomy pavilions, exhibitions, cultural items and a number of workshops.
In terms of support and priorities to the participants, each general consulate will be given four pavilions free of charge; the enterprises invited by general consulates will be supported 50 per cent of fee while enterprises of provinces, cities and the Vietnam Association of Foodstuff will be wholly exempted from fees.
The second Vietnam Rice Festival is aimed at not only the economic efficiency, but also at the coordination between Vietnamese rice producers and domestic and foreign trading partners in a bid to penetrate more deeply the international market. Could you make clearer the latter purpose?
Vietnam is raking the second in the world in rice exports (after Thailand), but the country’s advertising work for rice products still remains weak.
For that reason, the rice festival is a good occasion to connect Vietnamese producers with domestic and foreign traders, aiming to bring Vietnam’s rice products to more potential markets.
For countries attending the festival this time, they will get chances to meet and sign contracts directly with Vietnamese businesses. Besides exhibitions, international seminars will promote the relationship between Vietnamese rice exporters and foreign partners closer.
What do you expect from the Vietnam Rice Festival 2011? Could you tell the meaning of the festival to the brand development of Soc Trang rice in particular and Vietnam in general?
The Rice Festival is a destination and also a bridge linking thoughts and initiatives of Vietnam’s rice, contributing to raise the status of Vietnam’s rice brand and making it more competitive in the international market.
The world consumption trend is to choose widely-popularized brands. If not building the image, a brand will be at a disadvantage at the export market. Thus, it is important to find and promote the unique characters of Vietnam’s rice as well as Soc Trang’s rice. We can focus on the criteria which show that Vietnam’s rice products are qualified and produced by hard-work farmers.
Through the second festival, we expect to help Vietnam’s rice in general and Soc Trang’s rice in particular to affirm the status and arrive at new markets, bringing more benefits for farmers.
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