By Chau Anh

Vinafood 1, Vietnam’s top rice exporter, has been asked to develop an integrated hub for agricultural trade, logistics, warehousing, exports, customs, banking, irradiation, and research and development activities.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha made the request at a meeting of the state-owned company (Vietnam Northern Food Corp.) in Hanoi last Friday, the government’s news portal reported.

He suggested the corporation choose a region – either the Mekong Delta, the Red River Delta, or a northern mountainous area – for the hub. It should be carried out within the years 2025-2030.

“The move aims to support farmers and reinforce the company’s role as an investor, production coordinator, and key player in both domestic and global value chains,” Ha said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also underscored digital transformation as a core task that Vinafood 1 must prioritize in the time ahead.

The company needs to swiftly develop a market database – both domestic and international – integrated with climate data and updated daily and annually, he said.

This will serve as a critical foundation for policy advisory work, particularly in the strategic areas of food reserves and national food security, Ha noted.

The cabinet leader asked the company to take a proactive and pioneering role in advancing the circular economy model in agriculture, turning agricultural by-products and waste into input resources for the next production cycle.

Vinafood 1, together with other major firms, should spearhead efforts to expand markets for Vietnamese agricultural products by leveraging free trade agreements such as the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, while also exploring promising opportunities in the Halal segment, the Middle East, and Africa, he said.

He emphasized the need for Vinafood 1 to serve as a central link connecting the four key stakeholders in agriculture – the state, farmers, researchers, and businesses.

“We need to support farmers in the areas where they lack capacity, such as access to technology, production expertise, consumption, processing, trade, and brand building,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Ha also lauded the company’s pivotal role in safeguarding national food security, stabilizing the domestic market, raising the export value of agricultural products – particularly rice – while connecting value chains and carrying out social welfare programs and international support initiatives.

Amid heightened volatility in the global food market, Vinafood 1 responded with agility and delivered strong results, he highlighted.

The company reported that it secured several major export contracts in 2024, with rice export volume estimated at 1.26 million tons, accounting for about 14% of the country’s total rice export. This volume allowed Vinafood 1 to retain its position as the country’s top rice exporter.

Vinafood 1, under the Ministry of Finance, posted total revenue of VND27.7 trillion ($1.06 billion) and a profit of VND315 billion last year, exceeding its full-target targets by 49.7% and 2.9%, respectively.

In 2023, amid global supply shortages and stockpiling by several countries, the corporation proposed and organized an export of 4.8 million tons of rice, contributing $2.6 billion to Vietnam’s total agricultural export turnover.

In early 2025, as the market faced oversupply, the corporation continued to stockpile 1.2 million tons of rice and introduced 10 new premium rice products meeting international standards.

Notably, the corporation has yet to fully tap into its potential for deep processing, with value-added products accounting for just 15% of output – well below the 25% target, which itself is not considered particularly ambitious, the Deputy Prime Minister added.

Published Date: July 15, 2025