In the past few months, rice has been the fastest-growing currency earner among agro-forestry-fisheries products. From January-November, 5.7 million tonnes of rice was exported abroad, worth 2.86 billion USD, a rise of 16.8 percent year-on-year in terms of value.

The price of exported rice hit 504 USD per tonne on average in the past 10 months, up 12.3 percent annually. White rice accounted for 51 percent of total rice export earnings, jasmine rice 32 percent, glutinous rice 12 percent and japonica rice 5 percent. 

Tan Long Group won the right to export 118,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines on November 20, to go along with the firm’s other large export contracts to the Republic of Korea.

In the last three years, the number of Vietnam’s rice export markets has increased from 60 to 150 countries and territories. Apart from traditional markets, more Vietnamese rice has gone to Latin American and Middle East countries. Premium white and jasmine rice have started entering demanding markets, helping Vietnamese rice gain a presence across the world. 

Despite falling demand in China, other markets saw growth in the last three years, such as Indonesia (65.8 times), Iraq (2.6 times), Hong Kong (up 71.1 percent), the Philippines (up 58.5 percent) and Malaysia (up 17.2 percent). 

The MoIT forecast that rice exports will be around 6.2 million tonnes this year, up 6.6 percent annually, bringing home nearly 3.12 billion USD, up 18.5 percent year-on-year. 

Between now and the year’s end, Indonesia and the Philippines plan to import more rice via international bidding and government contracts, while Egypt is forecast to buy 500,000 tonnes of rice at the beginning of next year. 

Recently, the MoIT’s Export-Import Department partnered with the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in China’s Guangzhou and the Long An provincial Department of Industry and Trade to invite 22 Chinese rice exporters to buy goods in Ho Chi Minh City and Long An Province.