VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has been listed among the top three countries which provide the most delicious rice in the world. However, Vietnam still cannot export ‘the pearl from God’ to many countries.

Vietnam has been listed among the top three countries which provide the most delicious rice in the world.

Vietnam has for the first time seen one of its rice varieties added to the list of the three most delicious varieties recognized by Rice Trader, an international rice research organization. 

The conclusion was made after a competition organized at the international rice conference held in Malaysia in late October 2015. 

Vietnam’s rice variety is ‘Hat ngoc troi so 3’ (the God’s Pearl No 3), made from Loc troi so 1 variety (the old name was AGPPS 103), developed by Loc Troi Group, which was the An Giang Plant Protection JSC. 

According to Duong Van Chinh from Dinh Thanh Agriculture Research Center, the competition is organized annually by The Rice Trader, to which all rice importers and exporters can join by sending rice samples.

California’s fragrant rice was recognized as the most delicious, while the second position belonged to Cambodian Jasmine.

Also according to Chin, in order to create high quality varieties like Hat ngoc troi so 3, Loc Troi had to make heavy investments in the agriculture research center, gathering the best scientists and selecting short-term high-yield rice varieties (3 crops a year), but the quality is in no way inferior to the rice varieties grown on the Mekong River’s upper course, including Thailand and Cambodia.

Loc Troi so 1 variety has recently been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which allows the rice to be sold on a large scale to people.

Vietnam is one of the biggest rice exporters in the world

Apart from Loc Troi so 1, Loc Troi Group has one more strategic variety – Loc Troi so 18 (the old name was AGPPS 140). The typical characteristic of Loc Troi so 18 is the long grain and high quality. The rice variety is being grown under trial by the Plantation Agency.

To date, Loc Troi has exported some varieties, including Jasmine and Hat ngoc troi so 3 to 36 countries.

Chin said Hat ngoc troi so 3 was sold for VND17,000-18,000 per kilo in Vietnam and exported at prices which are equal or higher than Jasmine exported by other companies, at $550-600 per ton.

However, an analyst commented that though Vietnam’s rice is delicious, Vietnam still cannot make big money from rice. The problem is that it still cannot organize production on a large scale.

Chin commented that if just 70 out of 140 enterprises belonging to the Vietnam Food Association build a rice value chain like Loc Troi Group’s and develops only one high-quality variety, Vietnam would have millions of tons of high-quality rice a year.