Agricultural expert Hồ Quang Cua introduces the ST24 rice variety from the southern province of Sóc Trăng. VNA/VNS Photo Trung Hiếu

MANILA – Việt Nam’s organic rice from Sóc Trăng ST24 was crowned the best in the world at The Rice Trader (TRT) World Rice Conference 2019 in Manila, the Philippines, on Tuesday.

This is the first time Vietnamese rice has been awarded this title.

The TRT World Rice Conference is the largest annual gathering of commercial and professional rice industry participants in the world.

The ST24 rice variety was developed by a group of Sóc Trăng-based agricultural engineers led by Hồ Quang Cua, who was former deputy director of Sóc Trăng Province’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department.

This is a high-yield rice variety that can provide 2-3 crops per year. It is long-grain white rice with an aroma of pineapple. Early this month, it also won first prize in Việt Nam’s rice contest held by the Việt Nam Food Association.

ST24 is recognised as a specialty of Sóc Trăng Province. It has been planted widely in the Mekong Delta region and some other localities in the country since 2010. This rice variety can yield up to 8.5 tonnes per hectare. It is also considered a climate-resilient one in the Mekong Delta as it can adapt to saline, alum soil and is suitable for rice-shrimp inter-cropping areas.

In March this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development officially recognised the ST24 as a national rice variety.

According to Lương Minh Quyết, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, ST24 rice is the pride of Sóc Trăng. With this honoured brand, the province will expand the growing area for this rice variety in the near future, focusing on developing the ST24 organic rice model.

Currently, ST24 rice was preferred in the domestic market with the organic variety being priced at VNĐ65,000 (US$2.80) per kilo while typical ST24 is priced between VNĐ20,000-25,000 per kilo. — VNS