Positive signals from the Chinese market
According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the rice export volume in May 2025 is estimated at 1.1 million tons with a value of 573.1 million USD, bringing the total rice export volume and value in the first 5 months of 2025 to 4.5 million tons and 2.34 billion USD, up 12.2% in volume but down 8.9% in value compared to the same period in 2024. The average export price of rice in the first 5 months of 2025 is estimated at 516.4 USD/tonne, down 18.7% compared to the same period in 2024.
The Philippines is Vietnam's largest rice consumer market with a market share of 41.4%. Ivory Coast and China are the next two largest markets with market shares of 11.9% and 10.3%, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, the value of rice exports in the first 4 months of 2025 to the Philippines market decreased by 21.8%, the Ivory Coast market increased by 2.7 times and the Chinese market increased by 83.7%.
In the group of 15 largest export markets, the value of rice exports increased the most in the Bangladesh market with an increase of 515.6 times and decreased the most in the Indonesian market with a decrease of 97.9%.
Thus, after a period of stagnation, the Chinese market is currently increasing its imports of Vietnamese rice.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), in 2017, China's peak import of Vietnamese rice was recorded at 1 billion USD. However, in 2019, rice exports to this market only reached 240 million USD, and in 2020 - 2021, it recovered slightly. In 2022, Vietnam's rice exports to China reached more than 834,000 tonnes, worth 423.2 million USD. In 2023, China also imported more than 917,000 tons of rice from Vietnam, worth nearly 531 million USD. However, in 2024, Vietnam's rice exports to China decreased sharply.
Bright picture of Vietnam's rice industry when entering 2025, this market increased imports of Vietnamese rice again.
Mr. Do Ha Nam - Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association said that since the beginning of the year, the Chinese market has consumed rice very strongly. In the first 4 months of 2025, China imported nearly 362,000 tonnes, an increase of 114% in volume compared to the same period in 2024. They mainly imported ST25 rice and sticky rice from Vietnam.
Talking to reporters of Cong Thuong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Director of Phuoc Thanh IV Production and Trading Company Limited (Vinh Long) said that in the period from 2019 to 2020, the Chinese market mainly imported regular rice. However, recently, they have imported a lot of sticky rice, with the import volume reaching 600 - 700 thousand tonnes in some years. Sticky rice is mainly imported for making cakes. Consumer tastes in this market favor sticky rice over regular rice.
Notes for export enterprises
China is a large and traditional rice export market for Vietnam. With geographical advantages and cultural similarities, Vietnamese rice products exported to China have been well received and consumed by the Chinese people. Vietnam has exported a variety of rice varieties to China, such as white rice, fragrant rice, japonica rice, sticky rice, etc.
Mr. Nong Duc Lai - Trade Counselor of Vietnam in China said that China is a populous country and its people have the habit of eating rice every day. This habit has entered the culinary culture of the Chinese people, so the demand for rice in this market is very large. China is also the country that produces and has the largest rice output in the world. Notably, ST rice is currently popular in the Chinese market because it has been certified many times as the best rice in the world.
However, this market has raised its rice quality standards compared to before. From fragrant rice, premium rice, ST24, ST25 rice... are all very strict about quality and packaging design. As for processed rice, China only imports cheap rice in large quantities. On the other hand, in the Chinese market, Vietnamese rice is having to compete strongly with rice of the same type from Thailand and Cambodia. These are all leading rice exporting countries in the world, not only with good rice quality but also very attractive packaging.
The Chinese rice market has been attracting Vietnamese rice exporting enterprises for many years. As the second largest rice exporting country in the world, Vietnam is supplying 36 - 37% of China's total rice imports.
In order for Vietnamese rice to continue to promote and take advantage of its advantages in this market, while maintaining the proportion of Vietnamese rice in China's total imports, experts say that enterprises need to diversify trade promotion activities to penetrate potential areas of the neighboring country.
In particular, focus on building rice brands so that the market can easily recognize and choose and use them. In addition, businesses need to clearly understand the regulations and procedures for exporting rice. At the same time, it is necessary to comply with strict quality standards. Rice must be carefully inspected and screened from the harvesting stage to processing at the factory.
An important factor to note is that new businesses entering the market need to focus on the GAP process to ensure food safety before paying attention to the quality or taste of rice.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn