Vietnamese rice faces mild 'waves'

Rice exports to China have dropped sharply; Indonesia has suddenly 'turned around' and cancelled its bid to buy 340,000 tons of rice. Vietnamese rice faces slight waves.

Rice exports to China market decreased by 72%

According to the General Department of Customs (Ministry of Finance), after rice export consecutively reaching over 1 million tons/month in March and April, in recent months it has stagnated at around 800,000 tons/month. In the first 9 months of 2024, the country's rice export volume reached 6.96 million tons, up 8.4% over the same period last year and the value reached 4.35 billion USD, up 23%.

Vietnam's rice export turnover reached 6.9 million tons, worth 4.3 billion USD. (Photo: NN)

In the past 9 months, Vietnam's rice was mainly exported to the ASEAN market with 5.06 million tons, accounting for 73% of the country's total rice exports and increasing by 32.6% over the same period last year. Besides, exports to Chinese market was 241,000 tons, down 72% over the same period last year.

Also related to rice, on October 23, the Indonesian Government's state-owned company, Perushaan Umum (Perum) - the unit authorized by Bulog, issued Notice No. PU-11/DP000/PD.04.01/10/2024 on canceling the 2024 rice import bidding.

The notice reads, “Based on the invitation to bid No. PU-10/DP000/DP.04.01/10/2024 dated October 22, 2024, we hereby announce that the bidding has been cancelled.”

Previously, Bulog issued a tender to exporters from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Pakistan to buy 340,000 tonnes of 5% broken rice, on the condition that the rice is produced in 2024 and milled within 6 months.

Interested exporting enterprises submit bid prices by October 30, 2024, of which the 3 enterprises with the lowest prices will be brought by Bulog to the next round of negotiations (closed negotiations) to continue negotiating on prices (this form has also been applied in previous biddings).

Bulog's previous invitation to bid also specified the delivery time as November to December 2024. It is known that this is the 9th time in 2024 that Bulog invited bids for international rice imports, but the 9th time was canceled.

Previously, in the 8th rice import bidding session held on September 25, Bulog purchased 450,000 tons of rice from Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand. Of which, Vietnam won the bid to sell 59,000 tons.

It is still unclear why Indonesia canceled the tender to buy 340,000 tons of rice, but some unofficial information predicts that Indonesia has negotiated and reached an agreement to buy rice at a good price from India.

It is known that in 2024, Indonesia plans to import a total of 3.6 million tons of rice to supplement domestic consumption, because adverse weather has significantly affected domestically produced rice.

Compete with quality

Another issue related to Vietnamese rice is that India lifted the ban on rice exports, said Mr. Tran Thanh Hai - Deputy Director of the Department. Import and Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), up to now, after 9 months, the turnover rice export Vietnam's rice export reached 6.9 million tons, turnover 4.3 billion USD, and the growth rate in the first 9 months compared to 2003 increased by 23%. It can be said that up to this point, rice export is quite positive. However, with India's move to remove the rice export ban, the export price will certainly be affected and businesses and associations have closely followed this move to avoid being passive.

Mr. Tran Thanh Hai also emphasized: We are currently implementing a policy of switching to high-quality rice and rice with special characteristics such as fragrant rice. This has helped Vietnam diversify its products, avoid collisions with exported Indian rice and limit the possibility of being affected.

"India's policies will have an impact, but there is no need to be too concerned," said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade. Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan review and comment, last week Prime minister chaired a conference on the implementation of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project. Following the Prime Minister's direction, we must diversify products and improve the quality of rice, especially Brand building.

Therefore, the solutions proposed to build a unique brand, typical of Vietnamese rice, are for Vietnamese enterprises to promote the application of high technology... According to Mr. Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, these are solutions that we can rest assured to compete fairly with other countries.

Source