Prime Minister's directive on promoting sustainable rice production and trading

In order to ensure healthy and transparent rice production, trading and export activities, aiming at sustainable development of the rice industry, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested ministries, branches and localities to continue to strictly implement Directive No. 24/CT-TTg dated August 5, 2023 of the Prime Minister.

This is one of the main contents of Directive No. 10/CT-TTg on promoting sustainable, transparent and effective production, business and export of rice in the new situation, signed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 2.

Specifically, according to Directive No. 10/CT-TTg, the Prime Minister requests Ministers, Heads of relevant ministries and agencies, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, Chairman and General Director of the Northern Food Corporation, Southern Food Corporation and rice export traders to continue to strictly implement Directive No. 24/CT-TTg dated August 5, 2023 of the Prime Minister, and at the same time, focus on directing and resolutely implementing a number of tasks.

The Prime Minister requested the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to direct localities in the Mekong Delta to organize the winter-spring rice harvest on time, minimizing post-harvest losses; promptly direct the organization of summer-autumn crop production; preside over and coordinate with localities and industry associations to closely monitor the situation, promptly provide complete and accurate information on developments in the rice market so that people and businesses can have appropriate production and business plans, ensuring supply for domestic consumption and export, and stabilizing market prices.

Focus on directing the effective implementation of the Project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030."

Directing the acceleration of the development and replication of product consumption chain models to ensure harmony of interests between people and businesses; coordinating with Ministers, Heads of relevant ministries and branches to direct, guide and urge localities to effectively implement Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2022 of the 13th Party Central Committee on continuing to innovate, develop and improve the efficiency of the collective economy in the new period; Decision No. 1804/QD-TTg dated November 13, 2020 of the Prime Minister on the Program to support the development of the collective economy and cooperatives for the period 2021-2025.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall preside over and coordinate with the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance to implement solutions to enhance the capacity of agricultural cooperatives in organizing production, providing input services, and consuming rice; promote training to equip farmers with knowledge about the market, agricultural business, change thinking, and apply scientific advances in agricultural production, processing, and business; and complete the system of legal documents on quality management of input materials for rice production, especially seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery and equipment.

Coordinate with ministries, branches, localities, and associations to seriously and effectively implement Official Dispatch No. 13/CD-TTg dated February 6, 2024 of the Prime Minister on strengthening logistics connectivity to promote consumption and export of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products.

In coordination with the Minister of Industry and Trade, the Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association regularly monitors developments in the regional and world rice markets; promotes negotiations and removes technical barriers to expand Vietnam's rice export market.

The Minister of Industry and Trade shall preside over the implementation of tasks and solutions to implement the "Strategy for developing Vietnam's rice export market to 2030" and the tasks directed by the Prime Minister in Directives and Official Dispatches on promoting rice production and export; preside over and coordinate with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies to direct, inspect and supervise rice export business activities, ensuring compliance with legal regulations; closely monitor the market situation, world rice trade, movements of producing and exporting countries, promptly inform ministries, branches, Vietnam Food Association, rice export traders to proactively regulate rice production, business and export activities, ensuring suitability and efficiency, contributing to ensuring national food security.

Urgently complete and submit to the Government the Decree amending and supplementing Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP dated August 15, 2018 of the Government on rice export business, creating a public, transparent, fair, favorable business environment and ensuring the legitimate interests of rice farmers, maintaining the reputation of Vietnamese rice products; study and streamline rice export hubs, ensuring healthy competition but not too dispersed, business efficiency, and reputation of Vietnamese rice.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall preside over and coordinate with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and heads of relevant agencies to promote market development and trade promotion activities, promote the circulation and consumption of rice products; support enterprises in effectively building rice supply chains associated with logistics services to international markets; research and promote the implementation of agricultural commodity trading floors, including rice trading floors, to ensure publicity and transparency in rice trading.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade presides over and coordinates with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities to research and develop pilot models to bring "traders" into the rice value chain to both promote their role as a bridge between people and businesses and limit possible risks for parties participating in the value chain.

The Minister of Finance and the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam shall preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to study and handle problems related to VAT refunds according to their authority and legal regulations; preside over and coordinate with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Industry and Trade to calculate and have a plan to purchase rice reserves that is appropriate, effective, and in accordance with regulations.

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam directed commercial banks to create favorable conditions for people and businesses to access credit sources with preferential interest rates, meeting credit needs for rice purchasing and rice export, especially purchasing commercial rice in the 2023-2024 winter-spring crop in the provinces of the Mekong Delta.

The study proposes that competent authorities consider issuing a Credit Program to support the linkage of production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the Mekong Delta between cooperatives and enterprises in accordance with the provisions of law.

Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall resolutely direct the effective implementation of the Project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030"; organize rice production in each crop season; direct local authorities to monitor and grasp information and developments in the purchase of rice in the area to promptly have appropriate solutions and provide them to relevant ministries and branches to serve the management of rice production and export nationwide; integrate programs and projects and mobilize other legal resources to effectively organize and implement models of rice product consumption chains in the area; organize propaganda, training, and implement solutions to diversify input material supply sources for production.

Organize regular and periodic updates and dissemination of market information so that farmers and businesses can correctly assess the market situation and developments and make decisions that both ensure production and business efficiency and ensure national interests.

The Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association strengthens monitoring, updating, forecasting, providing information and developments on the production and market situation of rice and paddy in the country and the world to relevant ministries, branches and enterprises; encourages enterprises under the Association to actively participate in the implementation of the Project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" and models of production-consumption chain linkages.

Chairman, General Director of the Northern Food Corporation, Southern Food Corporation and rice export traders: strictly implement the regime of periodic and ad hoc reporting and circulation reserves as prescribed in Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP; have solutions to promote the development of production linkages, build raw material areas and implement traceability solutions; proactively monitor the global rice trade situation, movements of exporting countries, consumption needs of importing countries, calculate business plans to ensure harmony between national interests, enterprises and producers; develop specific plans to gradually improve production and business capacity; focus on training and fostering skills to grasp and exploit market information, negotiate, sign contracts, and handle trade disputes.

Actively participate in the Project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" and production-consumption chain models.

The Prime Minister assigned the Government Office to monitor and urge according to assigned functions and tasks, promptly report to the Prime Minister on arising issues beyond its authority.

According to Directive No. 10/CT-TTg, in 2023, the global food market will have many unusual fluctuations, but with the close, flexible and timely direction of the Government, the Prime Minister, ministries, central and local branches, together with the persistent efforts of farmers, the perseverance of businesses, and solutions to clear the market and circulate goods, the rice industry has achieved remarkable results in both production and export (exporting over 8.1 million tons of rice, worth nearly 4.7 billion USD, up 14.4% in volume and 35.3% in value over the same period in 2022 and the highest level in the past 16 years), contributing significantly to ensuring national food security.

However, besides the achieved results, our country's rice industry still has some shortcomings and limitations that need to be promptly resolved: Input material sources are not proactive, prices are not strictly controlled, always at a high level, the mechanization rate in many production stages is low, the post-harvest loss rate is high, which has greatly affected the production efficiency and competitiveness of our country's rice products; the production chain between farmers and enterprises is not tight, lacking sustainability; export markets have not been diversified, still dependent on some traditional markets.

In the first months of 2024, the complicated developments in the regional and world rice markets have affected the psychology of some businesses and farmers.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and a number of relevant agencies, the rice export situation is still favorable, the demand for rice of countries in the region and the world remains high due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon and armed conflicts.

However, currently, in the provinces of the Mekong Delta, the winter-spring rice crop is being harvested, but there is a phenomenon that businesses are waiting for rice prices to drop while people want to sell rice at high prices like in the last months of 2023; if this situation continues, it will cause businesses to lose rice export opportunities and affect production and income of rice growers.

Preliminary estimates show that by the end of January 2024, Vietnamese rice had been exported to 27 markets with a volume of over 512,000 tons, worth 362 million USD, an increase of 42.8% in volume and 94.5% in value over the same period in 2022.