According to members of the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA), Tan Long Group JSC is the only Vietnamese firm to win a contract in South Korea. In addition, Tan Long Group has also won a bid to export 2,800 tonnes of long grain white rice at the same time.

This was the first time a private Vietnamese firm beat international businesses from China, Thailand and Australia to win the contract providing rice to South Korea under the Government bidding process.

According to local businesses in the rice production industry, Japonica rice exported to South Korea has had export prices at about US$700 per tonne. This is also the highest price for Vietnamese rice exports.

The deadline for delivery of 60,000 tonnes to South Korea’s port is September 15.

So far this year, the Tan Long Group has won bids to export 110,000 tonnes of Japonica rice to the Government of South Korea, including 50,000 tonnes in May.

They also said reducing the rice export business conditions of the Government has supported private enterprises to promote dynamism and competitive ability, to seek markets and to reduce dependence on the Viet Nam Food Association and large businesses such as Vinafood.

In 2017, Viet Nam won two rounds of bids in South Korea and delivered a total of about 41,000 tonnes by the Tan Long Group, reported the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

South Korea is a fastidious market and has strict regulations on quality and delivery time. Japonica brown rice has been grown in Viet Nam for about 10 years. The rice is high quality, but consumption has not been stable.

According to Tan Long Group, it has set up a production chain of this product to always ensure supply of high quality rice.

From 2017 until now, Tan Long Group has cooperated with agricultural cooperatives in the Mekong Delta provinces to buy Japonica rice and to participate in the South Korean Government’s bids to export this product to South Korea.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Viet Nam’s rice exports in the first six months of 2018 were estimated at 3.56 million tonnes, earning $1.81 billion, up 25 per cent in volume and 42 per cent in value over the same period of 2017.

China was still Viet Nam’s largest rice export market, accounting for 30 per cent of the total exports. Following was Indonesia with 19 per cent of the total.

During the first six months, Viet Nam had seen significant changes in quality of export rice, according to the ministry.