Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) 🐎– Rice firms need to build their own brands in the domestic market first before they make their way to the global market, said Huynh Van Thon, Chairman of Loc Troi Group, an agribusiness based in An Giang province.

The local market consumes 18 million tonnes out of over 25 million tonnes of rice Vietnam produces annually, or 72 percent of the total amount. Branding of rice products should receive more attention, so local consumers can recognise and differentiate between them, before the products can attempt to gain a foothold in the international market where the competition is increasingly fierce, Thon said. He added that rice companies should serve as a bridge between consumers and farmers in a bid to raise customer confidence in the rice quality. According to Secretary General of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) Huynh Minh Hue, the success of rice branding relies on the quality of the rice which satisfies customer demand, and which has competitive edge over other products. A set of national standards for rice should also be developed, he noted. To build a strong national rice brand and trademark of quality, each business must build its own brand, said Le Thanh Khiem, Director of Tien Giang Food Company. It is fundamental to create a strong link between business and farmers in which the farmers are aware of the importance of their rice quality, that only by ensuring the quality will they be able to generate a stable income, he stressed. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam requested that the VFA roll out the official design of a national logo for Vietnamese rice no later than February 2017. The government and the ministry will assist the rice businesses in brand building through related policies, he said.-VNA