Vietnam’s ST25 fragrant rice variety, called Gao Ong Cua (Mr. Cua’s Rice), has won the World’s Best Rice 2023 award, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The award was announced within the framework of the 2023 International World Rice Conference Summit in the Philippines on November 28-30.

The contest was organized by The Rice Trader, a publication providing in-depth analysis of the global rice industry.

Thirty rice samples from more than ten countries were considered in this year’s edition. Vietnam’s ST25 rice was the winner, followed by Cambodian and Indian varieties.

This is the second time Vietnam has won the contest’s top award. The Ong Cua ST25 rice won in 2019 and took second place in 2020.

The ST25 rice strain was initially created and developed by engineer Ho Quang Cua (Mr. Cua) in the Mekong Delta’s Soc Trang province, hence the prefix ST.

The winning sample was grown on 2.6 ha in Soc Trang in the 2023 summer-autumn crop.

In the first eleven months of 2023, Vietnam exported 7.65 million tons of rice, earning a record $4.41 billion, figures from MARD show.