Vietnam’s Rice Export Potential Soars as Global Demand Rises

Local rice exporters expressed optimism about Vietnam’s potential to export more rice as global demand for the country’s staple continues to rise during a conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

According to Tran Quoc Toan, the deputy head of the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam exported over 1.8 million metric tons of rice worth $981 million in the first quarter of this year, a 23.4% increase in volume and a 34.3% increase in value compared to the same period last year. The average rice export price also rose by 8.8% to $529 per metric ton.

Asia remained the largest importer of Vietnamese rice, followed by Africa and Europe, with China, Indonesia, and the Philippines being the largest markets. White rice comprised 53.7% of the total rice shipments, followed by fragrant, glutinous, and broken rice.

Despite global economic volatility, Vietnam’s rice export prices maintained their growth momentum, with the country’s five-percent broken rice export price ranking first in the world at times during the first quarter, higher than the same rice rate of Thailand and India, according to Toan.

File photo of a person examining the high-quality Jasmine rice at a local firm. Vietnam has exported a large volume of fragrant rice to Hong Kong

The conference provided a platform for enterprises to discuss ideas for taking advantage of export opportunities and maintaining the growth of Vietnam’s rice sector. However, they also discussed obstacles to meeting global demands, including a shortage of high-quality grains to meet customer demand and difficulties exporting to China through the northern province of Lao Cai.

Vietnam’s potential to expand markets and increase the market share of high-quality Vietnamese rice was also highlighted at the conference, particularly in light of Fitch Solutions’ forecast of a global rice shortfall of 8.7 million metric tons in 2022-23, the largest global rice deficit since 2003-04, primarily due to poor weather in rice-producing nations such as China and Pakistan.

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Source: Vietnam Insider