Just over the first five months of the year, but the country's rice export output has reached nearly 3.9 million tons, earning USD 2.05 billion, this year's rice export volume is expected to exceed 7 million tons.

While most industries faced a record drop in exports, the rice industry achieved impressive growth, successfully exporting nearly 3.9 million tons, bringing in USD 2.05 billion, an increase of 40.8% in volume and an increase of 52 % in value over the same period last year.

The increasing demand for rice imports in traditional markets of Vietnam such as the Philippines, China, Indonesia and African countries is creating opportunities for the rice industry to accelerate exports.

Both Indonesia and Africa announced significant increases in imports compared to the previous year, ensuring national food reserves. For example, Indonesia has decided to increase the volume of rice purchased in reserve to 2.4 million tons instead of about 1.2 million tons to ensure food security.

To meet the demand for rice estimated at over 42.2 million tons in 2023, Africa is expected to import about 17.7 million tons. The main types of rice imported by African countries include fragrant rice, white rice and broken rice. Africa's main rice supply will still focus mainly on India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the increase in Indonesia's reserve rice imports is opening more opportunities for regional rice exporters, including Vietnam, which is among the top three largest rice exporting countries.

The rice industry confirmed an export record of 7.1 million tons at the end of last year, bringing in USD 3.46 billion, an increase of 13.8% in volume and an increase of 5.1% in value compared to 2021. The average export price of USD 486.2/ton.

Despite being heavily affected by developments in the global rice market, Vietnam's rice exports to a number of traditional markets still achieved growth compared to 2021.

Specifically, the Philippines continues to be Vietnam's largest rice import market, accounting for nearly 45.2% of the total volume and 43.2% of the total rice export value of the country, reaching nearly 3.18 million tons with a value of more than USD 1.49 billion, an increase of 28.8% and 19% respectively compared to 2021.

China ranked second, reaching 834.2 thousand tons with a value of USD 432.3 million, a decrease of 21.3% in volume and a decrease of 17.3% in value.

Ivory Coast ranked third, reaching 657,000 tons, worth USD 295 million, an increase of nearly 9.4% in volume and an increase of nearly 35% in value.

In a recent report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the agency raised its forecast for Vietnam's rice exports in 2023 to continue to exceed 7 million tons, mainly due to increased demand from several Asian countries (China, Indonesia, etc.).

With this forecast, Vietnam ranks third in the world in terms of rice exports in 2023 after India (22.5 million tons) and Thailand (8.5 million tons), accounting for 12.7% of global rice trade.

Kylie Nguyen