The addition of a trader creditability assessment mechanism does not generate additional business conditions, but aims toward transparency, elevating enterprise capacity, and promoting sustainable rice exports.

Perfecting management mechanisms, elevating enterprise capacity

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in the first half of July 2026, Vietnam exported approximately 274,749 tons of rice, reaching a turnover of 137.72 million USD. Cumulatively from the beginning of the year to July 15, exported rice volume reached 5.3 million tons with a turnover exceeding 2.52 billion USD. The average rice export price was estimated at approximately 475.6 USD/ton, higher than the average level of the first 6 months of the year, reflecting market recovery signals following a period of sharp global rice price declines.

In the export market structure, the Asian region continues to hold a primary role. The Philippines is the largest market, importing approximately 2.28 million tons of Vietnamese rice in the first 6 months of the year, valued at around 1.03 billion USD, occupying approximately 45% of total export volume. China stands second with around 1 million tons, reaching approximately 530 million USD, equivalent to 20% of total export volume.

Against a backdrop where the global rice market is step-by-step recovering and requirements regarding quality and sustainability are increasingly high, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is perfecting policy frameworks to elevate the governance efficiency of rice export activities. The highlight is the addition of a trader creditability assessment mechanism in the draft Decree amending Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP, thereby creating momentum for enterprises to elevate competitive capacity, build brands, and develop sustainable rice value chains.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade - Ministry of Industry and Trade, supplementing the trader creditability assessment mechanism for rice export businesses is implemented following directions from the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 21/CD-TTg regarding governance to ensure rice supply-demand balance. The Official Dispatch requests a comprehensive study to amend Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP, in which proposing additional criteria to assess enterprise creditability in a transparent direction, reducing focal intermediaries, and prioritizing units possessing production linkage chains, synchronized, and modern warehouse and logistics systems.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Son, Director General of the Agency of Foreign Trade - Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated that through nearly 8 years of implementing Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP, rice export activities have achieved many positive results. However, practical realities also set forth requirements for an objective assessment mechanism regarding trader capacity and compliance levels to serve governance work, select enterprises to execute crucial sector tasks, and simultaneously create momentum for enterprises to invest in developing raw material areas, storage systems, logistics, and building Vietnamese rice brands.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasized that creditability assessment does not aim to create additional business conditions, but serves as a transparent management tool, contributing to encouraging enterprises to compete fairly and develop sustainably.

According to the draft, trader creditability levels will be evaluated across 10 criteria groups, encompassing credit ratings, tax obligation fulfillment, customs law compliance, constructing production and product off-taking linkage chains, developing rice brands, export performance results, executing reporting regimes, circulating reserves, warehouse and logistics investments, as well as ensuring regulations on labor safety, fire prevention/fighting, and facility protection.

To ensure objectivity, the assessment will not be executed solely by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but will involve the participation of ministries, sectors, and provincial-level People's Committees according to management functions for each criteria group. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will synthesize evaluation results and publish trader creditability levels in accordance with regulations.

Heading toward professional and sustainable rice exports

Mr. Nguyen Anh Son shared that centralized rice export contracts often carry large values, directly influencing national prestige. Therefore, selecting focal traders with high creditability levels will contribute to maintaining and elevating the standing of Vietnamese rice in the world market, while simultaneously approaching international practices in selecting export partners.

Creditability evaluation results will also serve as one of the bases to allocate quotas for executing centralized rice export contracts. This approach will encourage enterprises to continue investing to elevate production capacity, modernize storage and logistics systems, strengthen linkages with farmers, and fully comply with legal regulations, thereby helping rice export activities become increasingly professional, transparent, and effective.

Notably, the creditability assessment mechanism does not create disadvantages for small enterprises. Assessment criteria are not based on scale or export volume, but focus on levels of legal compliance, brand building, developing linkage chains, warehouse and logistics investments, as well as responsibility toward producers. Therefore, every enterprise possesses the opportunity to elevate its creditability level if it satisfies prescribed criteria well.

The new mechanism is expected to contribute to shifting enterprise competition methods from competing primarily on price to competing through capacity, quality, and prestige. Enterprises are encouraged to invest in storage systems, milling facilities, and logistics; strengthen production and off-taking linkages with farmers; develop rice brands; and fully execute regulations on tax, customs, reporting, labor safety, and environmental protection.

In the long run, the Ministry of Industry and Trade desires to form a team of rice export traders possessing comprehensive capacity, fully capable of participating in large-value export contracts, and satisfying import market requirements better. The creditability assessment mechanism will also help regulatory agencies select capable and prestigious enterprises to participate in important trade promotion programs, contracts, and activities, thereby contributing to building Vietnam's image as a prestigious, quality, and responsible rice supplying nation in the international market.

Source: Bao Cong Thuong