The Philippines is Vietnam's largest rice consumer market
According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the volume and value of rice exports in November are estimated at 700,000 tons with 444.9 million USD, bringing the total volume and value of rice exports in 11 months to nearly 8.5 million tons with 5.31 billion USD, up 10.6% in volume and 22.4% in value over the same period in 2023. This is the first time the agricultural sector has achieved the output and value of exported rice.
The Philippines is Vietnam's largest rice consumer market with a market share of 46.1%. Indonesia and Malaysia are the next two largest markets with market shares of 13.5% and 8.2%, respectively.
In the group of 15 largest rice export markets, the export value of rice increased the most in the Malaysian market with an increase of 2.2 times; the market with the sharpest decrease in export value was China with a decrease of 71.3%. Thus, after reaching a record export turnover in 2023, Vietnam's rice exports this year continued to increase strongly and exceeded the 5 billion USD mark, this is the first time Vietnam's rice exports have exceeded the 5 billion USD mark in a year.
Vietnam's rice exports exceeded the 5 billion USD mark for the first time, mainly due to high export prices. In the first three quarters of the year, the average export price of rice was 626 USD/ton, up 13.4% over the same period last year, equivalent to an increase of 74 USD/ton.
Vietnam's high export price of rice, in addition to the influence of world rice prices, also comes from the change in the types of exported rice. Mr. Do Ha Nam - Vice President of the Vietnam Food Association - said that Vietnam is gradually creating a difference in rice production and export compared to other exporting countries, when focusing on fragrant rice, high-quality rice, while sharply reducing the production and export of medium and low-grade rice. Thereby, the rice industry has created a separate export price level for Vietnamese rice.
The price difference of Vietnamese rice has been shown many times when it is at the highest level among the leading exporting countries and at many times is significantly higher than the same type of rice from Thailand.
Since India removed the minimum export price for non-basmati rice on October 22, the export price of rice in the world market has decreased significantly. Although it has decreased as sharply as rice from other exporting countries, the price of Vietnamese rice is still the highest among the major exporting countries.
Specifically, on December 3, the price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam was 517 USD/ton, while the same type of rice from Thailand was 499 USD/ton, India 451 USD/ton and Pakistan 453 USD/ton. Thus, among the 4 largest rice exporting countries in the world, currently only 5% broken rice from Vietnam is still at over 500 USD/ton.
Promoting to the billion-people market
Notably, the export value of Vietnamese rice to China from 2012 - 2016 remained relatively stable. In 2017, rice exports to this market increased dramatically, reaching nearly 1.03 billion USD, accounting for nearly 40% of the total rice export value. However, the export turnover of this item to the Chinese market in 2019 suddenly dropped to 240.3 million USD, but quickly recovered in the following years.
In 2023, rice exports to China ranked 3rd, accounting for 11.3% of the country's total rice export volume, reaching 918,000 tons with a value of 530.6 million USD, an increase of 10.08% in volume and 22.7% in turnover compared to 2022. With this output, China is behind the Philippines and Indonesia. While in 2012, China became the largest market, accounting for 27.5% of Vietnam's total rice export value.
According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) and businesses, China used to be the largest market for Vietnamese rice, but since the beginning of 2024, the export "performance" has not been maintained as before. Data from the General Department of Customs shows that in the first 9 months of 2024, rice exports to China only reached 241,000 tons, earning 141.2 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, rice exports to this market decreased by 72%.
Implementing the National Trade Promotion Program, from December 2 to 6, 2024, the Trade Promotion Department coordinated with the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) to organize a trade delegation for rice in Guangdong Province and Hunan Province (China).
The delegation of 10-18 businesses will work at a number of factories, warehouses, transport and a number of large rice importing enterprises in China; Learn about the system and distribution, retail and consumption methods of Chinese consumers, thereby building a direct penetration method, increasing market share in this market.
Rice trade promotion activities aim to help Vietnamese enterprises grasp information about policies and market demand to increase cooperation opportunities, seize export opportunities after 2024 when facing a sharp decline. Through trade promotion activities, the Ministry of Industry and Trade hopes to support enterprises to improve quality, take advantage of opportunities to restore their position in this potential market.
Rice exporters are also advised to take advantage of opportunities from existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China to accelerate exports and take advantage of tariff incentives. Rice has become Vietnam's second agricultural product to reach an export value of over 5 billion USD after vegetables and fruits. In 2023, vegetable and fruit exports exceeded 5 billion USD for the first time, in 11 months of 2024 they exceeded 6.6 billion USD and are aiming for a turnover of 7 billion USD by the end of the year. Following rice, it is likely that by the end of this year, Vietnam's coffee exports will also reach 5 billion USD for the first time. In general, of Vietnam's agricultural export products, up to now, there have been 3 items with an export value of 5 billion USD or more: wooden furniture, vegetables and rice. With the achieved results, Mr. Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development commented that the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products for the whole year of 2024 is confident to reach a new record of 60 billion USD...

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn