Farmers during rice harvest season in the Mekong Delta. There is still much room for growth for Vietnamese rice exporters in ASEAN markets. (Photo: VNA) To answer questions related to rice import and export among ASEAN markets, theministry's trade facilitation department held a working session withVietnamese exporters on May 5 in the southern province of An Giang, a majorproducer of rice in Vietnam.
According to the ministry, the Philippines was Vietnam’s largest rice buyer in2021, with a purchase volume of 2.45 million tonnes and a turnover of 1.25billion USD.
On average, Vietnamese rice to the Philippines fetched 509 USD per tonne, a10.7 percent increase in volume and 7.1 percent in price from the previousyear.
Export to the Philippines alone accounted for 38 percent of the country's totalrice export throughout the year.
During the first quarter of 2022, the Philippines remained Vietnam’s largestrice buyer, accounting for 48 percent of the country's total rice export atmore than 672,000 tonnes at an average of 462.8 USD per tonne, totalling 311million USD.
Aside from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei werealso top buyers of Vietnamese rice among ASEAN countries.
Pham The Cuong, Vietnam’s trade attache in Indonesia, said Vietnamese rice hadgained popularity in Indonesia in both traditional markets and supermarkets.There had been fierce competition between Vietnamese and Thai brands. In 2020,Indonesia imported roughly the same amount from the two countries.
There has been an uptick in rice export to Malaysia in January 2022. Vietnam shippednearly 35,000 tonnes of rice at 16.07 million USD to Malaysia in January, a 104percent increase in volume and a 67.5 percent increase in turnover compared tothe same period last year.
Vietnamese rice exported to ASEAN countries mainly was made up of lower-qualityrice. As Vietnam has steadily moved to produce higher-quality rice, whichcurrently accounts for up to 80 percent of the country's entireproduction, it will be difficult to compete with affordable brandsfrom India, Myanmar and Pakistan in the future, according to the ministry.
As a result, Vietnamese rice prices have been on the rise since 2020. As thecountry continues to focus on producing high-quality rice, prices have beenpredicted to continue with an upward trend, especially after setting an exportgoal of just under 4 million tonnes annually by 2030.
Torealise said objectives, industry experts and policymakers have called for riceproducers to conduct a comprehensive review of major markets, including ASEANmarkets, the EU and the US, to find a balance between supply and demand forVietnamese rice./.
VNA
