Great opportunity for Vietnamese rice as import demand from other countries increasing

	Can Vietnamese rice take advantage of the "golden opportunity"?
	New position of Vietnamese rice

Some of Vietnam's major trading partners are expected to increase rice imports

On December 13, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committee of Hau Giang province jointly organized a workshop "Global rice market and trends".

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that in addition to ensuring national food security, Vietnam's rice industry also plays a role in ensuring food security for the region and world. The domestic and international rice markets have been bringing in revenue to help improve the lives of Vietnamese farmers, contributing to social security and stability.

In 2023, Vietnam's rice exports surged in the context of a volatile rice market. India, the leading rice exporter, limited their exports, which has contributed to boosting rice supply from Vietnam. In the first 11 months of 2023, Vietnam's rice exports are estimated to reach 7.75 million tons worth US$4.41 billion, up 16.2% and 36.3% respectively over the same period in 2022. Average price of exported rice in 11 months is estimated at US$568/ton, up 17.3% over the same period last year.

Notably, the proportion of high quality rice varieties in Vietnam rose from 50% in 2015 to 74% in 2020. The volume of exported rice maintains at 6 million tons and tends to grow over the years, with continuous export value of over US$3 billion per year.

Mr. Tran Thanh Nam commented that the domestic and international rice markets will continue to be vibrant due to the large demand for rice imports from countries such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Middle East and African countries.

Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development also said that Vietnamese rice brand is increasingly recognized on the world map. In the coming time, global rice production may reach a record of nearly 520 million tons, while the consumption will also approach 525 million tons.

However, global inventories have decreased to just over 160 million tons, so Mr. Hoa believes that this is a great opportunity for Vietnam's rice industry.

Mr. Hoa said, the import demand of countries will fluctuate. Some countries will decrease in imports, such as Brazil, Egypt, Ghana... but some countries, including Vietnam's major trading partner like Indonesia, are forecast to increase their imports by about 600,000 tons.

Currently, the Philippines is still the number one market for Vietnamese rice, accounting for about 35% of the market share of Vietnamese rice exports. In the first 11 months of 2023, the amount of rice exported to this country reached 2.63 million tons, equivalent to US$1.41 billion, followed by Indonesia, China and African countries.

Mr. Hoa forecasts that in 2023, the rice imports by the Philippines will reach more than 2.8 million tons, of which 90% is imported from Vietnam, 4.5% from Thailand, 4.3% from Myanmar, the rest from Pakistan, India, Cambodia.

Mr. Subramanian from Ssresource Media Company (Singapore) also assessed that India's limitation on rice exports will benefit Vietnamese rice in 2024.

However, businesses must firmly grasp market information. Accordingly, to update information, Vietnam can look up information from many open sources on the internet, thereby understanding the supply-demand relationship in the coming time and understanding the trend of rice price.

Vietnamese rice wins big in many key markets

For example, in the context of shrinking supplies, the markets before Christmas and Ramadan will boost demand for rice in Asian countries, mainly Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.