Vietnam sees opportunities, challenges for rice export

India, which accounts for over 40 percent of global rice exports, issued a ban on exporting non-basmati white rice, which represents more than 80 percent of its rice export volume, in July. As such, Vietnam is enjoying a big opportunity to gain proactivity in rice export. It is high time for Vietnam to cement its position as a large rice exporter in the world, and seize chances to seal long-term rice export agreements. Big hurdlesAmong bottlenecks in Vietnam’s rice export process are rice quality that is not higher than expected, a small rice-growing scale, poor access to high-quality rice seeds, and the weak application of technology to farming. To increase rice yields, improve rice quality, and build Vietnamese rice brands globally, agriculture agencies, enterprises active in rice farming, and farmers should focus on seed selection and training for application of technology.