1. Trademark of Vietnamese rice is a tool to restructure Vietnam's rice industry on products, markets, ensuring effective and sustainable development of rice products. Trademark building must be associated with rice product value chain, building rice production areas and application of science and technology into seeds, techniques, processing, storage, packaging, distribution and marketing.

2. Development of Vietnamese rice trademark is a process of creating universal values ​​of Vietnamese rice products, positioning these values ​​in market, building and maintaining confidence of enterprises and consumers on Vietnamese rice products by reputation of enterprises, products and guarantee of the State. Vietnamese rice product positioning must associates with national, regional, local advantages of quality, value, origin, history, culture, traditions and other socio-economic values.

3. Trademark of Vietnamese rice is built under form of certified trademark protection and commercial trademark protection in order to promote, manage and protect intellectual property in import countries. Built Vietnamese rice trademark include: national certified trademark of Vietnamese rice; geographical indications, collective trademarks and certified trademarks for rice products of regions or locality; trademarks for rice products of enterprises.

4. Vietnamese rice trademark building focuses on two contents:
- To select market segment of high quality and specialties export rice in order to improve competitiveness and value of rice product on markets those requires high quality rice, such as US, Japan, EU...

- To maintain and keep stability in traditional market with rice products of average level (white, long grain rice), enhancing value through direct distribution channels, strengthening and maintaining trust of rice consumers.

5. The State shall organize and support implementation of activities of promoting and introducing Vietnamese rice trademarks in domestic and foreign markets; promulgating policies to support organizations and individuals (enterprises, associations, producers...) to promote rice production, expand markets, enhance value, competitiveness, credibility and market share of Vietnamese rice products in the world market.

6. Enterprises play a key role in building, using and developing Vietnamese rice trademark through building and developing trademarks of enterprises, rice products to organize, manage production, process, develop consumption market and participate in global value chains.

II. Objectives
1. Overall objectives

Building Vietnamese rice trademarks to position value and image of Vietnamese rice products, raise awareness of rice manufacturers, importers, distributors and domestic and foreign consumers about Vietnamese rice products, creating basis for consolidating and developing market, raising added value, market share and competitiveness of Vietnamese rice products on the world market.
2. Specific objectives to 2020

- To associate Vietnamese rice trademark building with history, culture, tradition, quality of rice products and advantages of Vietnam. Image of Vietnamese rice products will be advertised, widely introduced in domestic market and at least 20 export markets through a long-term, synchronous program combining with promotion of tourism, cuisine, agricultural culture, country and people of Vietnam;

- National rice trademark is protected intellectual property rights under form of certified brand name in Vietnam and at least 50 countries;

- To construct and develop local and regional rice trademarks of regions and localities which have capacity of rice production at huge scale, quality of rice are suitable with requirements of consumption markets and being registered intellectual property right protection as prescribed;

- Trademark of enterprises, rice products being developed and built by enterprises will be registered intellectual property right production in accordance with legal regulations;

- To organize production, processing and distribution of products of white rice, fragrant rice and specialty rice. By 2020, the products account for 20% of export rice volume having Vietnamese rice trademark and directly participating in global chain value.
3. Vision to 2030

To construct export paddy and rice production area stable, efficiency and sustainable, developing Vietnamese rice to become the world leading trademarks in terms of quality, food safety. Striving to 2030, 50% of export rice volume have Vietnamese rice trademark, out of which, 30% of total export rice volume are fragrant rice and specialty rice.
III. Content

1. Raising image, value of Vietnamese rice trademarks

- To organize synchronous activities in order to promote, introduce Vietnamese rice trademark, image to enterprises and consumers in domestic and foreign markets through the following activities: Vietnamese rice weeks in domestic and foreign markets; organizing, participating in conferences, seminars, exhibitions, fairs of rice trade promotion in domestic and foreign markets; advertising rice image, rice trademark on mass media in domestic and foreign markets...;

- To develop and implement joint cooperation plans between trade promotion agencies with enterprises to advertise, show image and quality of Vietnamese rice on the world market;

- To encourage and support enterprises to use Vietnamese rice trademark in studying, assessing competitiveness, market expansion; constructing and developing channels of rice product distribution in domestic and foreign markets;
- To promote international cooperation on building, managing and advertising Vietnamese rice trademarks.

2. Developing national rice trademark
2.1. Building national rice trademark

- To build national rice trademark (recognized image, language, style...) which express cultural identity, history of agricultural civilization, country and people of Vietnam and advantages of rice products;

- To develop a system of indicators of rice products which have national rice trademark on: paddy variety, paddy variety group; quality standards and food safety, hygiene standards; processes of rice production, processing and supply...on basis of promoting characteristics, values ​​and advantages of Vietnamese rice, in accordance with quality requirements for each market segment;

- To register intellectual property protection of national rice trademark under form of a certified trademark in domestic market and foreign markets which are strategic market and potential market of Vietnamese rice;

- To research, survey, analyze trends of export markets (segments, tastes, demand forecasting, distribution channels...); competitors; status of rice production value chain and construction and development of Vietnamese rice trademark;

- To develop strategy of positioning Vietnamese rice trademark, identifying market segments, rice product segments; committing desired trademark values ​​for components of value chain, export market and consumer; structure of managing trademark at all levels.
2.2. Organizing to manage and use national rice trademark

- To develop regulations and mechanisms on managing and using national rice trademark; organizing appropriate apparatus to manage national rice trademark;
- To guide, support organizations, individuals and enterprises to use national rice trademark;

- To promote localities, organizations and enterprises to build, develop regional, local rice trademark and trademark of enterprises, rice products to meet criteria of national rice trademark;

- To develop policies to support enterprises using national rice trademark in building materials area, linking value chains, improving seed quality, supporting technology, quality management, building quality standards of rice products;

- To support and create appropriate incentives on export management, tax for enterprises using national rice trademarks in order to create favorable mechanisms to encourage exports of rice products using national rice trademark, having separate distribution channels in international markets;

- To organize quality inspection and supervision of using and exploiting national rice trademark by organizations and enterprises.
3. Developing regional, local rice trademark

3.1.Developing effectively regional, local protected rice trademark

- To strengthen management, using and exploitation of regional and local rice trademarks: geographical indications, collective trademarks, certified trademarks;
- To support promotion and introduction of trade promotion, expanding market for enterprises using local and regional rice trademarks.

3.2. Constructing and developing new regional and local rice trademarks

- To construct and develop regional, local rice trademarks for specialty rice products, local varieties which are suitable with national rice trademark orientation to promote value and quality of rice products in localities:

+ To build characteristic image of regional and local rice trademark, local associating with historical value, reputation, varieties and specific quality in forms of protection: geographical indications, collective trademarks and certified trademarks;

+ To rate, build standards of rice products having regional and local rice trademarks on basis of advantages of varieties, quality of products;

+ To organize management and use of regional, local rice product trademarks, implementing mechanisms and policies on encouraging and supporting enterprises and organizations to develop regional, local rice trademarks.

- To give priority to select 03 specialty varieties in Mekong river delta region to support construction and development to become local, regional rice trademarks, striving to become national rice trademarks including jasmine varieties, aromatic rice varieties and specialty glutinous varieties;
- To organize to advertise and introduce rice products, trade promotion for enterprises and rice products using local, regional rice trademarks.
4. Developing trademarks of enterprises, rice product trademarks

- To strengthen capacity of enterprises in construction and development of enterprise trademark, rice product trademarks; supporting consultancy for enterprises to register protection of enterprise trademark, rice product trademark in the country and foreign countries;

- To develop and implement programs and activities of supporting enterprises to advertise and introduce enterprises trademark, rice product trademark; developing distribution channels of enterprises on domestic market and foreign markets;

- To support construction of material areas, technology, infrastructure, trademark management, quality management for enterprises which use national, regional, local rice trademark associating with trademarks of enterprises and rice products.
5. Key projects on implementing scheme on development of Vietnamese rice trademark.

- Project of building and managing national rice trademark.
- Project of developing national rice trademark for some major rice products of Mekong river delta region;

- Project of protecting Vietnamese rice trademark and supporting enterprises to register protection of rice trademark on international market;

- Project of advertising Vietnam rice trademark to producers, enterprises and consumers;
- Project of export promotion and market development for enterprises and rice products having Vietnamese rice trademarks.

1. Researching, forecasting market, managing and using Vietnamese rice trademarks

- To research and develop standards of export rice, standard of rice products having national rice trademarks which are suitable with market segments and sustainable development criteria of the world's rice sector;

- To develop specific images, icons of national, regional, local rice trademarks and trademarks of enterprises, rice products;

- To improve effectiveness of researching, applying supporting technology for processing, preserving and packaging rice products;

- To strengthen activities of research and development, annual market forecast of rice products in the world, reviewing and determining strategic markets, competitive advantages of Vietnamese rice products;

- To develop and promulgate regulations on management and use of national rice trademarks, regional and local rice trademarks;
- To regularly evaluate effectiveness, potential and difficulties in development of Vietnamese rice trademarks.

2. Restructuring production of rice sector
- To review and plan paddy production areas having Vietnamese rice trademarks;

- To select, develop a number of high quality rice varieties which are suitable with export market demand;

- To facilitate various formation of organizations of rice farmers such as cooperatives, cooperative groups, associations of production area management;

- To enhance support for value chain links associating with enterprise, quality management in rice production;

- To build units of manufacturing certified seed which have clear origin, giving priorities for production areas, enterprises having Vietnamese rice trademarks;

- To organize to implement measures on land consolidation and production organizations to form concentrated rice production material areas.
- To apply process of good manufacturing practices to ensure quality of rice products, food safety and environmental protection.
3. Science and technology
- To promote application and popularization of supporting technology in producing, processing, preserving and packaging rice products, improving competitiveness and quality of rice products;

- To research, invest in constructing rice quality inspection room under international standards;
- To review science and technology program, giving priority to patent applications into fields of post-harvest storage and processing for enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademarks;
- To promote application of technology into traceability, ensuring food safety of products of rice.
4. Trade, media

- To integrate with national trademark programs to organize marketing strategy, introduce synchronously Vietnamese rice trademarks, deploying Vietnamese rice weeks in foreign markets, introduce rice product on media, cultural events and tourism events in the country and foreign countries;

- To boost cooperation among the State trade promotion agencies about market survey; organizing, participating in exhibitions, fairs, conferences and seminars on production, sales of rice, building and developing separate distribution channels in foreign markets through national trade promotion programs;

- To build capacity and disseminate knowledge and information on content of international agreements on trade and intellectual property for enterprises which build and use Vietnamese rice trademarks;
- To strengthen activities of communication and advertisement to raise awareness for enterprises, localities, domestic and foreign consumers about Vietnamese rice trademarks.
5. Intellectual property

- To organize to register intellectual property protection under suitable form for national rice trademarks in countries which are strategic market and potential markets of Vietnam rice products;

- To integrate programs and projects of developing intellectual properties to increase support, consult, guide, build capacity, register intellectual property protection of rice product trademark in foreign countries for enterprises.

6. Investment, finance and credit

- To prioritize to invest in infrastructure of producing, processing and packaging rice products in regions producing Vietnamese trademark rice;
- To increase investment, support export credit for export enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademarks.
7. Mechanisms and policies

- To review and supplement preferential policies to support enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademarks, building material areas which have quality certifications, linking value chain of rice products;

- To review, supplement support policies on land, credit of investing in building processing facilities, storage for enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademarks. Focusing on implementation of Government’s Decree No. 210/2013/ND-CP dated December 19, 2013 on policies of encouraging enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural development;

- To amend, supplement and develop investment incentives policies, encouraging innovation, application of supporting technology into processing, packaging, stockpiling rice products having Vietnamese rice trademarks;

- To research and develop policies of appropriate incentives support on export management, tax for enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademark in order to create favorable mechanisms on encouraging export of rice products having Vietnamese rice trademark;
- To have appropriate mechanism on supporting trade promotion for enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademarks.
V. Organizing implementation

1. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Shall functions as the main implementer and in collaboration with Ministry of Industry and Trade, related agencies, localities, associations and enterprises:
- To develop and manage national rice trademarks;

- To study, consider to build regional trademarks for rice products which are suitable with national rice trademarks and local rice trademarks;
- To reviewing and build plan on producing rice of Vietnamese trademark;

- To develop policies of promoting land consolidation to form material regions of concentrated rice production;

- To review and supplement priority policies and measures of supporting enterprises using Vietnamese rice trademarks in programs and projects of fields of seed, applying and renovating technology, managing quality, linking value chain, investing in infrastructure of stockpiling and processing;
- To develop, implement effectively key projects of implementing scheme on developing Vietnamese rice trademarks.

2. Ministry of Industry and Trade
- In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in formulation and development of national rice trademarks;
- Shall function as the main implementer on building priority policies on rice export management for enterprises using national rice trademarks;
- To review and amend Decree No. 109/2010/ND-CP dated November 4, 2009 on trading rice export under direction of encouraging enterprises to export rice products having Vietnamese trademarks;

- Shall function as the main implementer, in collaboration with related agencies, units and enterprises to conduct research, market forecasts, assess competitiveness of Vietnamese rice products on the world market;

- To develop policies on supporting introduction of products, market expansion, trade promotion for enterprises using national rice trademarks, regional, local rice trademarks, trademarks of enterprises, rice products;

- To develop and implement projects and mainstreaming activities within framework of national trade promotion programs, national trademark programs to support advertisement, export promotion, market development for enterprises, Vietnamese rice products and national rice trademarks.
3. Ministry of Science and Technology

- Shall function as the main implementer on fulfilling measures of registering Vietnamese rice trademark protection in foreign countries through building and implementing projects of protecting Vietnamese rice trademark; supporting enterprises to register protection of Vietnamese rice trademark in domestic and international markets;
- To develop policies on supporting technology of preservation, processing, packaging for rice production and trading enterprises;
- Shall function as the main implementer on evaluating and investing in building laboratories of rice quality under   international standards to support export rice accreditation activities.
4. Ministry of Finance
- To prioritize to allocate funds to carry out schemes, projects, trade promotion program associating with implementing scheme on development of Vietnamese rice trademarks;
- In collaboration with Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to review and supplement policies of encouraging rice exporters having Vietnamese rice trademarks.

5. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

To coordinate with Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade to integrate advertisement and introduction of Vietnamese rice trademarks in programs of promotion and introduction of tourism, cultural events of Vietnam in the country and foreign countries.
6. Ministry of Information and Communications

To coordinate with Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct advocacy of raising awareness of distributors, domestic and foreign consumers on image of Vietnamese rice trademarks on mass media.
7. State Bank of Vietnam

- To direct credit institutions to focus capital sources on rice production and rice export business;
- To perform priority credit policy for rice export enterprises having Vietnamese rice trademarks.

8. People's Committees of centrally-run provinces and cities

- To review and promote activities of managing, exploiting and developing geographical indications, protected collective trademarks, certified trademarks of localities; supporting enterprises, organizations to use and exploit effectively built trademarks;

- Shall functions as the main implementer, organize to build local rice trademarks, organizing to manage and develop local trademarks;

- To develop plan of production region, supporting establishment of collective farmer organizations to register and manage local rice trademarks; supporting and creating favorable conditions for enterprises which use national, local rice trademarks to invest in facilities of storage, processing, linking value chain of rice products having Vietnamese rice trademarks.
9. Vietnam Food Association

- To actively participate in implementation of the scheme with ministries, branches and localities;
- To introduce, disseminate to enterprises content of this scheme, national rice trademark, local and regional rice trademark to help enterprises to actively select and fulfill;

- To actively implement activities of advertisement, introduction of Vietnamese rice trademarks in domestic and foreign markets;
- To assist enterprises to find new markets for Vietnamese export rice.

10. Rice production and trading dealer

- To proactively build and develop effectively enterprise trademarks, rice products associating with national, regional and local rice trademarks to promote and introduce Vietnamese rice to international market;
- To actively participate in development, management and use of national, regional, local rice trademarks.
11. Schedule on implementing the schemes

The scheme is implemented in two phases, namely:
+ In a period to 2020

- To build national rice trademark: focusing on researching, assessing Vietnamese rice quality, determining marketing strategy, building image of national rice trademark, advertising and introducing national rice trademark to the world;

- To develop pilot rice products in Mekong delta region to become into local, regional rice trademark and will striving to become national rice trademarks;

- To strengthen and support effective exploitation of existing regional, local rice trademark and construct, develop newly regional, local rice trademark associating with orientation of developing, building national rice trademark;
- To assess and build a list of key enterprises of rice production and trading in order to support and develop trademark of enterprises, rice products associating with effective exploitation and use of national, regional, local rice trademarks.
+ In a period of 2021 – 2030

- To evaluate effectiveness and propose solutions of expanding, developing Vietnamese rice trademarks;

- To expand, develop national rice trademark, regional, local rice trademark across the country;
- To expand objects and continue to support enterprises to develop trademark of enterprises, trademark of rice products associating with national, regional and local rice trademark to global markets.
12. Funds for implementation

- Fund for implementation of the scheme from the following sources: the State budget; fund of enterprises; other legal supporting capital and fund.

The central State budget guarantees activities of developing Vietnamese rice trademark under this scheme through annual State budget estimate for ministries, agencies on basis of assigned contents in the scheme.
Local State budget guarantees activities of developing local rice trademark, supporting enterprises to develop trademarks of rice products as prescribed.
- For major projects which implement the scheme, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall function as the main implementer, in collaboration with Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, related agencies and associations build fund estimates, reporting to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval.

 
Long Giang
Source: moj.gov.vn