IDP celebrates first rail shipment of Lao rice to China

Indochina Development Partners Lao Co., Ltd. (IDP) has shipped 100 tonnes of glutinous rice to China, at the first trial delivery made by the company using the Laos-China Railway.
In the past, the company shipped rice by sea from ports in Thailand and Vietnam.
A ceremony to mark the special occasion took place at the Southern Vientiane Railway Station on May 28.
The event was attended by officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,  representatives of IDP and other entities.

Speaking at the event Chief Executive Officer, Mr Frederic Jullien said “We hope that the shipment through the railway will enable us to cut costs and the time taken to ship our rice to the destination in China.”
“At this time,we are still shipping a big volume by sea freight from Thailand and Vietnam. That meant we had to pay for transport from Laos to ports in those countries, but transport by rail will reduce our expenses.”
IDP has invested in the rice sector in Laos since 2015 and has built four modern rice mills in the provinces of Savannakhet and Champassak.
The company buys at least 60,000 tonnes of paddy from Lao farmers each year, paying about US$20 million.
With this amount of paddy, 30,000 tonnes of rice are exported to Europe, China, Thailand, and Vietnam each year.
As of 2017, IDP had sold 45,000 tonnes of rice to China.

Now the company sees the potential for expansion of market share in China and hopes to sell 25,000 tonnes to China each year over the next three years.
“Currently, Europe is our main market for the export of glutinous rice but we expect that China will become our biggest market in the future,” Mr Frederic Jullien said.

The rice is grown in Champassak and Savannakhet provinces by Lao farmers, in the main paddy production area of Laos. IDP provides farmers with the seeds to be planted, so that the quality of the rice is guaranteed.
IDP is also promoting organic rice production with 1,500 families for a total area of 5,000 hectares.
The sale of glutinous rice to China is a good advertisement for the quality of Lao rice to overseas buyers and paves the way for market expansion.

ByTimes Reporters
 (Latest Update June 6, 2022)