Preliminary statistics from General Department of Customs show that by the end of May 2024, Vietnam exported nearly 4.03 million tonnes of rice, earning 2.56 billion USD. Compared to the same period last year, rice exports increased by only 11.2% in volume but increased by 33.6% in value.
Although export price of rice has decreased sharply in recent days, the average price in the first 5 months of this year still reached 638 USD/tonne, up 20.5% over the same period last year.
In the past 5 months, rice export to most major markets have grown positively. Notably, the Philippines and Indonesia are the two largest customers of Vietnamese rice in Southeast Asia.
Specifically, Vietnam exported over 1.83 million tonnes of rice to the Philippines, worth over 1.14 billion USD, up 19.6% in volume and 47.8% in value over the same period last year. Accordingly, the Philippines continued to hold position of the largest customer of Vietnamese rice in the past 5 months.
Similarly, rice export to Indonesia continued to boom, with a volume of 676,800 tonnes and a revenue of 424.1 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, Vietnam's rice export to this market increased sharply by 83.4% in volume and 133.8% in value.
Currently, rice export to the Philippines and Indonesia account for 61% of total export value of this item in our country.
Recently, the Philippine government has approved a reduction in rice import tax from 35% to 15% for both in-quota and out-of-quota rice until 2028.
The decision aims to lower rice prices and make rice more affordable for majority of people, especially the poor in the Philippines. This tax rate also supports importers to bring more rice from the world market.
Mr. Pham Thai Binh - Vice Chairman of Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company - said that with the Philippines' tax reduction policy, consumers in this country will benefit first, because if importers pay high taxes, they will sell rice at high prices and vice versa.
As for Vietnam, the above tax reduction can help enterprises sell rice at higher prices, especially when the world supply tends to be scarcer. If Vietnamese enterprises increase the selling price of rice by 10 - 20 USD/tonne, import cost of the Philippines will still be lower than when the 35% tax was applied.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn