On April 25, 2026, the 'Mekong Delta Tasty Rice Contest' (Cuoc thi Gao ngon Dong bang song Cuu Long) was held for the first time ever at Hung Vuong Square in Ca Mau province in southern Vietnam. After 28 samples went through two rounds of judging, the winner was BL9 rice, entered by the Ba Dinh General Agriculture Cooperative (Hop tac xa Nong nghiep Tong hop Ba Dinh) in Vinh Loc commune, Ca Mau province. It was produced by the 'lua-tom' method of doing shrimp farming and rice growing in the same field, using only organic fertilizer and biological pesticides. At the same time, Ca Mau province also announced a plan to establish an 18-meter-tall 'Three Grains of Rice' monument and a rice-farming museum.
News details
The contest was held as the opening event of the 'Science, Technology, Culture and Tourism Week' (Tuan le Khoa hoc Cong nghe - Van hoa, Du lich). Pham Van Thieu, deputy secretary of the Ca Mau provincial party committee and chairman of the people's council, gave the opening address, emphasizing the region's historical value of rice farming and its transition to low-emission agriculture.
The judging had a two-round structure. In the first round, the whiteness, luster, uniformity, and ratio of chalky grains (immature white grains) of the raw grain were evaluated by sensory assessment, and in the second round the aroma, whiteness, luster, stickiness, firmness, swelling, sweetness, and neatness of the grain after cooking were compared. For BL9 rice, narrowed down from 28 samples, Ba Dinh Cooperative's chairman Nong Van Thach took the stage and explained the production method.
BL9 rice is a variety developed by the Bac Lieu Agriculture and Fisheries Seed Center (now the Ca Mau Provincial Agricultural Seed Center) through years of research and selection, obtaining distribution approval in 2023. Through symbiosis with shrimp farming, it leverages salt tolerance and mineral-rich soil characteristics, making possible high-quality rice production without chemical fertilizer or chemical pesticides.
Background: what the lua-tom method is
The lua-tom (rice-shrimp) method is a crop-rotation and symbiosis system that grows rice in the rainy season and farms shrimp in the dry season. In Ca Mau province, about 90,000 hectares of fields are run as 'lua-tom,' and the balance of three elements-salinity adjustment, field water permeability, and organic-matter circulation-decides the rice's taste. Because chemical inputs are restricted, 'clean rice' naturally results.
The advance of saltwater intrusion due to climate change is also a threat to rice growing in the western Mekong Delta, but the lua-tom method is gaining nationwide recognition as a sustainable model that turns this threat to advantage. This BL9 rice win will be broadcast nationwide as a representative example.
Contest overview and award information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Contest name | Mekong Delta Tasty Rice Contest (1st edition) |
| Date held | April 25, 2026 |
| Venue | Hung Vuong Square, Ca Mau province |
| Participating samples | 28 varieties |
| Winner | BL9 rice (Ba Dinh General Agriculture Cooperative) |
| Production method | lua-tom (rice + shrimp), organic fertilizer and biological pesticides only |
| BL9 approval year | 2023 (distribution approval) |
| Ca Mau province lua-tom area | about 90,000 hectares |
| Simultaneous announcement | 'Three Grains of Rice' 18 m monument and rice-farming museum |
Industry and local reaction
Pham Van Thieu, deputy secretary of the Ca Mau provincial party committee, commented that 'BL9's win proved that Ca Mau's shrimp-rice model is also among the nation's top class in taste.' Ba Dinh Cooperative's chairman Nong Van Thach said it was 'a result that leads to income stability for contract farmers and the settling of young people,' revealing a policy of hurrying to expand membership.
An official of the Ca Mau Provincial Agricultural Seed Center said, 'BL9 had the challenge of reconciling saltwater-intrusion tolerance with grain quality, but this win greatly raises the variety's market value.' On the distribution side too, a move to add a price premium for premium supermarkets and department-store gifts within Vietnam has begun. The local tourism industry also has a policy of commercializing agritourism in conjunction with the rice-farming museum.
Practical information for Japanese agriculture stakeholders and importers
BL9 rice, as 'natural rice' with chemical inputs kept down, has high affinity for Japan's organic-leaning supermarkets, department-store gifts, and premium Japanese restaurants. In particular, it can be differentiated by importing small lots of milled rice for Japanese restaurants in Ginza and Kyoto and appealing with the origin story. From an OEM standpoint, cases of adopting it, story included, as a raw material for premium lines of retort-pouch rice balls and frozen cooked rice are expected to increase.
A point to note in import practice is that lua-tom rice can have a higher salinity than ordinary rice, so its suitability for sushi or congee use requires lot-by-lot evaluation in advance. Even though biological pesticides are used, residual-pesticide testing and cadmium testing should be built into the standard flow. The Ba Dinh Cooperative is at a scale of 80 member households, but securing stable quantities is seen as possible by linking with the local Vietnamese seed center.
Ripple effects on the industry
BL9's win becomes a symbolic case in the Mekong Delta's low-emission rice program where the three beats of 'quality x sustainability x story' are aligned. A branding strategy that puts not only carbon credits but also taste, farming method, and regional culture onto product value supports the premiumization of Vietnamese rice as a whole. For Japan's high-economic sphere, such 'rice with culture' becomes a breakthrough for avoiding unit-price competition.
The simultaneously announced 18 m rice monument and rice-farming museum will function as the core of agritourism. It is a move to rebrand Ca Mau as a cultural tourism destination comparable to Hue and Hoi An, and it also works as a plus for the tourism income of the whole Mekong Delta.
Practical information summary
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Variety | BL9 |
| Producer | Ba Dinh General Agriculture Cooperative (Vinh Loc commune, Ca Mau province) |
| Production method | lua-tom (rice + shrimp symbiosis) |
| Inputs | Organic fertilizer and biological pesticides only |
| Export potential | For Japan's premium supermarkets, department stores, and Japanese restaurants |
| Related announcement | Rice-farming museum and 'Three Grains of Rice' monument |
| Contact | Ca Mau Provincial Agricultural Seed Center and Ba Dinh Cooperative |
Summary
BL9 rice's Mekong Delta contest win is a symbolic victory that tied together the unique farming method of shrimp-rice symbiosis with regional branding. A product combining the three of restrained chemical inputs, climate-change adaptation, and a taste premium has large room for use in the Japanese market too as material for value-added appeal beyond unit-price competition. For Ca Mau province as a whole, by linking with cultural outreach such as the rice-farming museum and the monument, it is forming another core of Mekong Delta tourism.
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