Labour Hero Hồ Quang Cua (second left) at the competition in Manila. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's Ông Cua ST25 rice finished second in the World's Best Rice 2026 competition, held on October 9 during the World Rice Conference in Manila, the Philippines, following three previous victories in the global contest.

According to The Rice Trader, the competition organiser, Myanmar's rice won first prize, marking the country's return to the top position for the first time in 15 years. Philippine rice took third place, while entries from India and Thailand ranked fourth.

The international judging panel, comprising chefs and industry experts, assessed rice samples from multiple countries in both their raw and cooked forms. The evaluation criteria included consistency, grain length, aroma, texture, stickiness and taste.

The result marks another international recognition for ST25, which first won the competition in Manila in 2019 and has since secured first place in 2023 and 2025. Despite missing out on the top prize this year, the Vietnamese variety remained among the leading entries in the competition.

ST25 is part of the ST fragrant rice varieties developed through more than 30 years of research, selection and breeding by engineer and Labour Hero Hồ Quang Cua and his team.

The development of these varieties has also involved farmers in the Mekong Delta's rice-shrimp farming areas, where rice cultivation is combined with shrimp production. Their work has contributed to the development of the ST rice varieties, including ST24 and ST25.

Ông Cua rice is the ST25 brand produced by Hồ Quang Trí Private Enterprise and associated with the work of Hồ Quang Cua. The brand has received trademark protection in Việt Nam, the US, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Hong Kong (China) and China.

The product is available in the US, Australia and Canada through official distributors, according to the information provided.

At this year's World Rice Conference, Ông Cua rice also maintained a display booth to introduce the ST25 variety and its development story to international rice industry experts and importers. — BIZHUB/VNS