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By Thanh Van

Rice exporters gear up to penetrate EU arena

On September 22, Loc Troi Group JSC exported the first batch of 126 tonnes of fragrant rice to the EU. To reach this, LocTroi upped its planting methods and quality control for the EU market in 2018. So far, the company has exported over 10,000 tonnes of rice to the EU market.

Backed by the tariff exemptions under the new EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), LocTroi chairman Huynh Van Thon said that the group aims to become one of the major rice exporters to the EU. The company will mobilise all its resources to satisfy the EU’s strict quality requirements, expanding its growing area and export volume and diversifying varieties.

Meanwhile, at the end of August Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC also exported its first batch of fragrant rice in line with EVFTA commitments. Pham Thai Binh, the company’s general director, said that the shipment is part of the company’s current contract to export 3,000 tonnes of rice to Europe.

Binh said the company made early preparations during the EVFTA negotiation process to increase its rice exports. Among them, food safety standardss were Binh’s focus as the bloc refuses products exceeding pesticide residue limits. Therefore, Trung An focused on international standards for planting, harvesting, preserving, and processing.

Elsewhere in 2019, Vinaseed also exported over 2,000 tonnes of rice to the EU with turnover of $2 million. The group inaugurated the Centre of Seed and Agricultural Product Processing Industry in Dong Thap province last year. Covering five hectares, the centre has capacity to process and preserve 100,000 tonnes of rice and 50,000 tonnes of seeds per year.

Nguyen Quang Truong, general director of Vinaseed said, “With modern lines and technology from Japan, the new centre can help us to produce rice meeting the EU’s rigorous inspection procedures, while preserving its natural taste.”

In addition, Vinaseed has also purchased an 800ha forest in Kien Giang’s Hon Dat district. The company will spend 3-4 years on preparing the land for agricultural use.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam’s rice exports to the EU reached over $1.2 million in August, up 93.5 per cent against July and 35.6 per cent on-year. Currently, many Vietnamese rice producers are negotiating new contracts with European partners.

While these efforts show the hard work of domestic companies in trying to raise their exports to the EU, it will remains tough to conquer the market for some time.

Quach The Phong, co-chair of the Food, Agri, and Aqua Business Sector Committee under EuroCham, said that rice and products thereof are a sensitive category in the EVFTA. The agreed export quota from Vietnam to the EU is set at 80,000 tonnes per year, including all types of rice. For comparison, in 2018 Vietnam exported only around 20,000 tonnes to the EU.

The EVFTA only helps with a fraction of the Vietnam’s total export volume, which is expected to reach 7 million tonnes this year. In the short-term, it is expected that there will be a positive price impact for the country’s rice exports. However, over the medium and long term, benefits include many aspects for improving technology transfer and trusts for a larger quota.

In addition to consumption rates, Vietnamese rice is facing tough competition from Thailand and Cambodia. Between September 2019 and March, the EU imported 30 per cent of its rice from Thailand and 27 per cent from Cambodia as well as 16 per cent from Pakistan, 15 per cent from India, and only 6 per cent from Vietnam, according to a report by the European Commission in April.

“Even though Vietnamese rice has advantages in terms of pricing, it is still difficult to change the consumption habits of European customers, which is likely to pose obstacles for local producers to fully take advantage of the EVFTA,” Binh said.

On the same note, Phong added that some firms able to export to the EU will have opportunities to strengthen their production locally as well as to understand and further adapt to EU standards as both the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade are closely observing and regulating the export process to follow commitments.

“With the help of government bodies here, this can become a reality to improve the entire rice export industry. This initiative is also important since the MARD has identified that a value-based export direction for rice will be the future for Vietnam, rather than a volume-based one,” Phong stated. VIR

Thanh Van

The “Huong Thom Que Me” (The Fragrance of Motherland) exhibition, held April 14- 26, displays 100 works of calligraphy in various languages including Vietnamese, English, French and Chinese.

The works reflect the Zen master’s love for Mother Earth, who nurtures and protects all sentient beings.

The exhibition takes its name from the title of a new book that features Thich Nhat Hanh calligraphy.

According to Eve Yuen, a Hongkong-based art critic, Hanh’s works are choreographic calligraphy that exude exquisite qualities, incorporating straight and solid lines as well as flowing curves in a balanced composition.

The works were earlier displayed in France, Germany, Canada, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Hongkong, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Calligraphy works by Thich Nhat Hanh. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tuyen.

The Zen master said he has done more than 10,000 calligraphic works since 1994. They have helped him demonstrate the art of mindful living to his students. They have become a source of donations supporting humanitarian projects in many developing countries.

“Writing calligraphy is a practice of meditation,” the Master has said.

“The way I do calligraphy, I do it in a certain way that can generate the energy of mindfulness, concentration, insight, and compassion during the time of practice.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, considered the second most influential Buddhist leader in the world after the Dalai Lama, studied and practiced Zen Buddhism from 1942.

Born in 1926, he became a monk at the age of 23 after studying Buddhism for seven years.

In the 1960s he spearheaded a movement by Buddhists in southern Vietnam that called for a negotiated end to the Vietnam War.

He left the country in 1966 and lived in Plum Village in southern France for decades, traveling regularly throughout North America and Europe to give lectures on mindfulness and peace.

Thich Nhat Hanh is also a celebrated poet and peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1967, and is the author of more than 100 books, including several bestsellers like the “The Miracle of Mindfulness.”

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also head of the committee.

The board asked that favourable conditions continue to be created for the clinical test of COVID-19 vaccines, while plans of production should be put in place in order to quickly produce vaccines once the testing proves successful.

Hailing the Health Ministry for its vaccination efforts and dealing with post-vaccination reactions, the board directed the health, public security, and national defence ministries to continue closely controlling immigration pending a policy regarding “vaccine passports”.

Many at the meeting reiterated that prevention measures continue to play an important role in the current context.

Ministries, agencies, and localities are urged to direct medical stations, schools, lodging facilities, factories, and markets to remain vigilant and seriously follow prevention and control measures.

Vietnam reported 16 imported cases of COVID-19 on the evening of the same day, raising the national count to 2,733.

The new cases include one Indian expert, one American expert and 14 Vietnamese citizens who were sent to quarantine right upon their arrival.

Meanwhile, 2,445 COVID-19 patients have been given the all-clear, and the death toll remains at 35.

Among patients still under treatment, 16 have tested negative for the novel coronavirus once, 18 twice and 18 thrice.

A total 38,743 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined across the country.

The Health Ministry continues to urge all people to follow the 5K motto – Khau trang (wearing facemask) – Khu khuan (disinfecting) – Khoang cach (keeping distance) – Khong tu tap (no gathering) – Khai bao y te (making medical declaration), in order to live safely amid the pandemic.