Vietnam first 126 tonnes rice to Europe under EVFTA   

Loc Troi Group has shipped over 10,000 tonnes of Jasmine 85, Japonica DS1, OM18, and OM5451 to Europe since 2018

At the proclamation ceremony at the Thoai Son food factory, Loc Troi Group announced that its patch of 126 tonnes of Jasmine 85 will be exported to the EU at the end of September.

The batch is part of Vietnam’s contract to export 30,000 tonnes of rice to Europe, and under the EVFTA, it will enjoy tariff exemption.

Loc Troi Group's rice exports occupy 17 per cent of Vietnam's total export quota to Europe, and fragrant rice varieties account for up to 50 per cent of the firm’s rice products.

Under the EVFTA, the EU provides an annual rice quota of 80,000 tonnes to Vietnam and completely liberalise trade in broken rice. Meanwhile, the EU poses a set of conditions for imports, such as clear certificates of origin issued by Vietnamese authorities.

The EU offered duty-free quotas for Vietnamese rice exports, including 30,000 tonnes of milled rice, 20,000 tons of husked rice (in product weight, equal to 13,800 tonnes of milled equivalent), and 30,000 tonnes of fragrant rice, while broken rice has received a 50 per cent tariff cut at the EVFTA's entry into force which will be subject to a linear reduction over five years.

According to the EVFTA, nine Vietnamese fragrant rice varieties enjoy import quotas to Europe, consisting of Jasmine 85, ST 5, ST 20, Nang Hoa 9, VD 20, RVT, OM 4900, OM 5451, and Tai Nguyen Cho Dao. In the coming time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with other units to review the list of fragrant rice varieties most widely produced and propose amendments and supplements to the list of aromatic rice varieties for export to the EU.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam exported nearly 16,000 tonnes of rice worth $8.5 million to Europe. On September 4-17 only, six companies applied to export4,300 tonnes of rice to Europe.