Vietnam’s ST24 and ST25 rice varieties, the latter the World’s Best Rice award winner not long ago, have obtained trademarks in Australia.
The ‘Gao Ong Cua Viet Nam’ trademark has been registered by Ho Quang Tri Private Enterprise, a company owned by the son of the main developer of ST25, Ho Quang Cua.
The trademark is valid until June 2031.
It includes a logo of the brand with Cua’s smiling face next to a stem of grain.
ST25 won the World’s Best Rice contest in 2019 and secured second place in 2020.
It was the result of 25 years of research by Cua and his colleagues who cross-bred the premium fragrant rice, described as having a sweet taste and a hint of pineapple flavor, in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.
Cua has been pursuing global trademarks for the grain since last year after several companies tried to register the ST25 trademark in the U.S. and Australia.
He has successfully registered the brand in the E.U. and the U.K.