The World's Best Rice Competition 2026 concluded on October 9th in Manila, Philippines . Vietnam's Ong Cua ST25 rice maintained its second-place position, behind Myanmar, while the Philippines came in third. India and Thailand shared fourth place.
This is another remarkable achievement for Vietnamese rice in the international arena. Previously, ST25 rice won first prize three times in 2019, 2023, and 2025 at a competition organized by The Rice Trader (USA).
However, despite its reputation in the international market, finding authentic ST25 rice in the domestic market still confuses many consumers.
Mr. Ho Quang Cua's ST25 rice variety has won the award for best rice in the world many times (Photo: Provided).
Ms. Thuy Minh (residing in Tan Thoi Hiep ward, Ho Chi Minh City) said that a few years ago, after learning about ST25 rice through the World's Best Rice competition, she bought some to try and was very satisfied with the stickiness and aroma of the cooked rice.
However, recently she has been having difficulty finding the exact same type of rice she used to buy. In supermarkets, many products are labeled ST25, making it difficult for her to know which is the "authentic" rice.