Vietnam Farmers urged to improve rice quality

Vietnam is seeking to improve the quality of its rice under a national plan to boost export revenue from the food staple.
Thailand is currently the world's number one rice exporter, followed by Vietnam. But Vietnamese rice fetches far less per ton than Thai rice because the quality is inferior to rice exported by its neighboring country.
Improving the quality of Vietnamese rice will also enhance the reputation of the product in the world market, according to Dr. Le Van Banh, head of the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute.
"Vietnamese rice will stand equal to that of Thailand if we improve our style of doing business," Banh said.
So far this year, Vietnam's export rice has sold for an average of US$325 a ton, while rice from Thailand sold for $525 a ton for 5 percent broken rice and $432 a ton for 20 percent broken rice.
World standard recommended
Vietnam's rice farmers should begin to follow the international Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standards known as Global GAP, said Le Huu Hai, head of the Agriculture Department of Cai Lay District in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang. GAP standards have been developed to ensure farmers produce safe, healthy and high-quality food.
To meet Global GAP standards, Vietnamese farmers will have to give up their practice of working their small fields individually and growing whatever variety of rice they like, Hai said.
Vietnam has a successful model of Global GAP rice cultivation in the My Thanh Nam Cooperative in Tien Giang, which is supported by ADC Import-Export Company Ltd. and local authorities.
Ten years ago, the cooperative started growing rice according to world standards on 50 hectares. ADC guaranteed to buy the harvest at a 20 percent premium to the going rice price.
To everyone's surprise, ADC sold 50 tons of Global GAP rice under the Tu Quy trademark within days and even had to refuse orders from international customers.
My Thanh Nam Cooperative now grows 1,000 hectares of Global GAP rice, Hai said.
Tien Giang Agriculture Department Director Nguyen Van Khang said Vietnamese rice will never fetch high prices if current cultivation practices don't change.
At present, a sack of Vietnamese rice contains a mix of different rice varieties. Most people can gauge the low quality of the mixed-variety rice with a quick glance.
The quality of Vietnamese rice is also often affected by poor storage practices. Vietnam does not yet have enough warehouses that are able to store rice for several months without the grain deteriorating.
Under a national plan, 80 percent of rice fields of Vietnam will cultivate rice according to global GAP standards within a decade.