Representatives from The Rice Trader organisation came to Viet Nam on February 2 to present the “World’s Best Rice 2025” Cup to engineer Ho Quang Cua and his colleagues for the successful development of ST25 rice – the rice crowned world’s best.

During the cup award ceremony held in Can Tho City, Jeremy Zwinger, President of The Rice Trader, said that the reason the organisation travelled to Viet Nam to personally present the “World’s Best Rice 2025” Cup to engineer Ho Quang Cua was to show respect for Viet Nam’s rice sector and for Ho Quang Cua himself. In particular, this was to recognise the efforts of the research team that developed the ST rice varieties, which have won first prize at the competition three times.

According to the President of The Rice Trader, the “World’s Best Rice 2025” competition took place amid especially fierce competition. Most rice-producing countries submitted samples, and the judging panel had to apply very strict criteria, ranging from colour, texture and aroma to flavour after cooking.

The fact that two countries, Viet Nam and Cambodia, jointly won first prize shows how intense the competition for the award was. As for ST25 rice, Jeremy Zwinger described it as “white gold” of Viet Nam.

Tran Chi Hung, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho City People’s Committee, noted that ST25 rice once again being honoured as the “World’s Best Rice 2025” is not only a source of pride for businesses, but also a driving force for the city to continue affirming its position, prestige and role as a hub for research, production, processing and value chain connectivity for high-quality rice, towards sustainable development and deeper integration.

At the same time, the “World’s Best Rice 2025” Cup is a well-deserved achievement for the persistent and creative efforts of scientists, enterprises and millions of farmers.

In the coming period, Can Tho City commits to continuing to improve the investment environment and support businesses and farmers in promoting green and digital transformation, contributing to the effective implementation of the national rice strategy. At the same time, the city will complete mechanisms and policies to maintain and enhance quality, and expand the scale and output of ST25 rice.

Published Date: February 3, 2026