The contest was part of the 11th World Rice Trade Conference held by rice industry analysts The Rice Trader from November 10 to 13, which attracted hundreds of major rice enterprises and traders along with scientists worldwide.

Vietnam’s rice competed with strong rivals from Thailand and Cambodia in the contest, in which the jury and international chefs inspected the visual aspects of the rice submitted, as well as performed a sensory evaluation of the rice (pre-cooked and cooked), before unanimously announcing Vietnam’s ST24 as the winner of this year’s contest.

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Engineer Ho Quang Cua, a member of Soc Trang's group of scientists that developed the ST24 rice variety

This is the first time ever that a Vietnamese rice variety has been honored as the best in the world after 10 seasons of the annual contest.

ST24, developed by a group of scientists of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, could be cultivated in up to three crops per year.

In 2017, ST24 came third in the 9th World’s Best Rice event in Macau, China.

Director of Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Minh Quyet said cultivation areas of ST rice line have been expanded annually, with ST24 accounting for over 10,000 ha.

Source: VNA