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PROJECT “NETWORK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
THINK-TAKS FOR COUNTRIES IN MEKONG-SUB REGION” (NARDT)

In Vietnam, the rice value chain in the Mekong River Delta is complicated
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with the participation of many stakeholders. There are 3 main channels including
(1) farmers selling rice directly to processing/exporting enterprises with the total
amount accounting for about 12.1% of total rice production; (2) rice is sold through
cooperatives (37.5%) for redistribution to processing/exporting enterprises or through
traders; (3) rice is sold through traders (49.5%) and redistributed to other actors. In
addition, about 1% of rice is being sold directly from producers to rice mills if these
mills are in farmers’ production areas. In general, traders are playing a key role in the
rice value chain. Since traders can collect and transport millions of tons of rice over
the entire region seasonally, up to 63.1% of rice production is distributed through
this actor. However, brokers/middlemen/traders/collectors (or “triggers”) become
extremely common in the rice value chain/

Figure 8: Rice value chain in the Mekong River Delta - Viet Nam

Source: CAP/IPSARD survey in Mekong River Delta, 2021.

In Cambodia, the field survey offers the illustration of rice value chain for wet-
season rice in Preah Vihear. In the chain, farmers are the main rice producers (either
with or without farming contract). There are five direct buyers: namely cooperatives,
collectors, millers, enterprises, and neighbor/end-consumers for rice produce. Farmers
sell their produce directly to local collectors or traders, millers, enterprises and/or
neighbors/end consumers. The Agricultural Cooperatives also play a role here as rice
collectors and sell rice to other traders, millers and exporting companies. Collectors/
traders sell their products to millers who then sell theirs to exporting companies.
From the chain, collectors do not directly involve the exporters though. To ensure
that rice quality follows export standards, export companies provide necessary
inputs to cooperatives to supply to their members. This activity helped to establish
a strong connection between cooperatives and export companies. As mentioned
above, there are five important actors in the rice value chain, where each purchase
rice in different forms.

5 The Mekong Delta (MKD) – rice bow of Viet Nam - produces more than half of the total rice production in
Vietnam and contribute more than 70% to the national rice exports valued at 3.28 billion USD in 2021.

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