The World's Best Rice 2019 contest was held from November 11-13 in Manila, the Philippines, by rice industry analysts The Rice Trader. This is the 11th annual event of its kind.
The ST24 rice variety was created by Agricultural Engineer Ho Quang Cua, who was former deputy director of Soc Trang Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and his co-workers.
Agricultural engineer Ho Quang Cua, (third from left) receives the prize of the World's Best Rice 2019
The competition’s panel of judges comprises famous international food experts, culinary consultants and acclaimed chefs. They use four criteria when judging; fragrance, flavour, glutinous texture and appearance. The judges blind-tasted the rice and award them points with no prior knowledge of their origin or type.
The Vietnamese rice topped this year’s contest, followed by a Thai variety.
The ST24 rice variety, which is seen as a specialty of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, was ranked first in the Vietnamese best rice contest which took place on November 4.
It can yield over five tonnes per hectare and has the aroma of pineapple.
The World's Best Rice took place for the first time in 2009 in Cebu of the Philippines and has rotated through countries that grow rice as a central crop.
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