Farmers can get rich from rice
Record high price of rice in 2023 makes rice producers in Dong Thap excited about a good harvest and good prices. Talking to reporters from Industry and Trade Newspaper, Mr. Ta Van Bong - Chairman of Board of Directors and Director of Tan Binh Cooperative - said that in Winter-Spring crop of 2023, rice prices remain above 9,000 VND/kg, farmers are very excited, especially in context of rising input costs and rising labor costs.
“In Fall-Winter crop of 2023, production faced many difficulties due to heavy rain. Overcoming difficulties of natural disasters, farmers had a bumper crop and good prices. Since I sowed and planted rice seeds, this is the highest price. Our farmers are very happy", said Mr. Ta Van Bong.
Rice prices have increased since the Fall-Winter 2023 crop when on July 20, India banned export of non-basmati white rice. Previously, in Summer-Autumn crop, farmers' rice prices still stood at 6,600 - 7,000 VND/kg.
With joy and excitement when price of rice in Fall-Winter crop increased and remained steady throughout entire season, rice farmers are also turning to growing regular rice to capture market opportunities.
Mr. Ta Van Bong said that in the past, farmers focused on sowing sticky rice a lot (sowing a lot of sticky rice). But now, with positive signals from market, people have returned to growing more ordinary rice.
“Perhaps, it has been a long time since farmers have been so happy and excited. If rice prices stay that high, rice growers will be rich," Mr. Ta Van Bong shared and said: "Previously, rice growers made a profit, with the current price, plus pushing strongly applying science and technology, in just a few years, rice farmers will rise and be able to get rich from rice".
Rice prices increased, export businesses increased their purchases. However, that does not mean that cooperative breaks deal with enterprise that has signed association contract. Because according to Mr. Bong, only by keeping trust can two sides go a long way together. Business issues and breach of trust will affect not only businesses but also export markets.
In 2023, cooperative's revenue growth reached 15 - 20%. Rice prices increased, remaining at 9,000 - 11,000 VND/kg, helping farmers profit from 35 - 40%.
Talking about production development goals, Director of Tan Binh Cooperative Ta Van Bong said that cooperative is moving towards safe rice production according to SRP standards, aiming to produce rice with low carbon emissions. By 2025, safe rice products will be released to the market, moving towards building the brand "Cu Lao Tay Agricultural Products" in following years...
“The market is increasingly concerned about quality. Growing high-quality rice into food-safe production will bring benefits to both producers and consumers. Cooperative currently has 220 hectares of organic rice, in 2024 it is expected to expand area to 300 - 400 hectares, and aim to grow organic rice in the entire area (more than 700 hectares)", Mr. Bong said.
Rice exports reached the highest level in the past 34 years, farmers were excited when rice was sold at high prices. Vietnamese rice recorded a year of double victories. Mr. Pham Thai Binh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho) - said that in 2023, rice export results in 2023 were good, 2024 can be better when we take advantage of market opportunities and consumer demand are still large.
The world context is lacking rice, Vietnam is also suffering from climate change but less, so production can be increased. This is not only a "God-given" opportunity but also internal strength. Vietnam's rice price is higher than Thailand's because of real investment. Vietnam is much better than Thailand in short-term, high-quality rice varieties, not by luck.
"There is a view that the increase in rice prices will benefit farmers, but businesses will not benefit - this is only local in the early period of August 2023. Because by the end of 2023, businesses will no longer lose money", Mr. Pham Thai Binh shared and said that the long-term solution is large fields, which means linking businesses and farmers - win-win. The Government has a solution, which is a project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice. If implemented successfully, farmers will make profits and enterprises will make profits.
Sharing the same opinion on this issue, according to Mr. Le Thanh Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - said, whether Vietnam exports rice for 600 USD or 1,000 USD/tonne, it is an efforts of farmers. To have rice seeds for export requires not only efforts of farmers and businesses but also resources and infrastructure, especially irrigation system in the Mekong Delta.
Vietnamese fruits and vegetables cover all markets
Picture of agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2023 must include fruit and vegetable industry when it earned nearly 5.6 billion USD, an increase of 80 - 90% compared to the results of 2022, marking an all-time record.
As an enterprise specializing in exporting fruit to Chinese market, Chanh Thu Fruit Import-Export Group Joint Stock Company also had a successful year in this market. Ms. Ngo Tuong Vy - General Director of Chanh Thu said that the group's revenue in 2023 double compared to 2022 thanks to rise of durian fruit. In 2023, durian export sales account for about 80% of the group's total revenue, of which the Chinese market accounts for 75% of this segment.
In 2022, Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company will not record revenue from exporting vegetables and fruits from Chinese market. However, after this market of 1.4 billion people opened to many Vietnamese fruits, especially durian, this year Ameii has turned to China, accounting for about 30% of this business's revenue.
Mr. Nguyen Khac Tien - Chairman of Board of Directors of Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company assessed that 2023 is the year of launch, 2024 will be the year of breakthrough in the Chinese market when there is still a lot of space and potential.
“Through process of working with Chinese corporations, we realized the potential to increase turnover of processed durian products. In 2024, we will focus on these products", Mr. Nguyen Khac Tien said.
From an association perspective, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - commented that 2023 is considered a successful year for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables when receiving many positive signals from the associations.
Specifically, durian exports to Chinese market earned more than 2 billion USD, a clear growth. As for the United States, this market has opened for Vietnamese grapefruit and coconuts. These factors help fruit exports to this market increase by about 30% compared to last year;...
With traditional fruits, we can still maintain market growth. From there, it helps overall picture of fruit and vegetable exports to grow greatly.
It can be seen that Vietnamese fruits and vegetables have covered all markets and are increasingly present in the most demanding markets. Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry is increasingly holding a strong position in the world market.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn