Vietnamese rice needs its own trademark in the UK

According to Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, in 2020 the volume of Vietnamese rice exports to the UK was 762,526 tons, up 13.5% compared to 617,601 tons in 2019.

Vietnamese rice export to the UK is still modest, reaching 3,396 tons in 2020, worth US$2.68 million only accounting for 0.45% of the UK's rice total import. However,  Vietnamese rice exported to the UK is growing strongly. In comparison to 2019,Vietnamese rice exports to the UK in 2020 rose by 116% in volumes and 106% in value.

Do Ha Nam, Chairman of  Intimex Joint Stock Company (​Intimex Group) , company owns a rice milling and processing factory  in Dong Thap with capacity of 300,000 tons per year, said  the UK- Vietnam Free Trade  Agreement (UKVFTA) is an opportunity for Vietnamese rice to access the UK market.  Previously, Vietnam exported just a small quantity of rice to the UK due to high tariff. Therefore, zero tariff in the UK market under the trade pact will help Vietnamese rice go faster to this market.

Sources from rice exporting firms in the Mekong Delta reveal that they are expecting greater rice exports to the UK this year, especially fragrant rice. Because under the UKFTA, Vietnamese fragrant rice exported to the UK will be tax-exempt instead of  being imposed 17.4% tax as before. Thanks to that, Vietnamese rice will gain competitive edge over rivals, including those from Thailand.

However, Vietnam Trade Office in the UK said  although thousands of tons of Vietnamese rice exported to this market, majority of Vietnamese rice sold in the UK trademarked by its distributors in the UK instead of  respective names of growing areas or exporters. The reason is that Vietnamese rice exporting firms have not yet built their own trademark s or some distributors in the UK believed that their own trademarks are more effective in terms of marketing in comparison to those by Vietnamese exporters, especially Vietnamese rice remains unknown to British consumers.

Vietnamese rice is now put up for sale at the UK under the brand names such as: Longdan, Golden Lotus, Buffalo (Longdan Supermarket), Green Dragon (Westmill UK) and Red Ant (MediFood).  Vietnam Trade Office in the UK said product bearing distributor's trademark rather than manufacturer' s brands is a common thing in the UK and permitted by law. In a competitive environment that favors local importers over the foreign exporters, Vietnamese exporting enterprises  is often willing to accept their rice without a brand name and allow distributors to use their own trademarks.

However, Vietnam Trade Office in the UK said that in order to make bigger breakthroughs and strengthen the position of Vietnamese rice in the UK market  as well as in other major markets, Vietnamese rice industry needs to implement a trademark strategy suitable for each market. 

Vietnamese national brand program needs to select a number of high-quality rice varieties with high-yield and name them in the way that is simple, easy to remember, easy to pronounce and having association with the growing areas such as Soc Trang Vietnam or it can be named after rice breeders for example Ong Cua to register for trademark protection in overseas markets.

According Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, although ST 25 rice was honored  as "the best rice in the world" in 2019, it is little-known in the UK and that name does not create an effect in terms of marketing in the UK market.