The competition was held as part of the 2026 World Rice Conference, which ran from Wednesday to Friday in Manila and brought together rice samples from leading rice-producing countries. Myanmar took first place for the first time in 15 years, while the Philippines finished third.
ST25 has previously won the top prize three times, in 2019, 2023, and 2025.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines, Vietnam’s rice exports to the Philippine market reached 1.2 billion USD in the first eight months of 2026, accounting for more than 27% of Vietnam’s total export turnover to the country.
