In Japan, a shortage of supply has pushed up domestic rice prices. Vietnam is the leading rice exporter, is this an opportunity for Vietnamese rice?
'Difficult door' is not easy to enter
In fiscal year 2024 (ending March 2025), the amount of rice applied for import by private individuals in Japan reached a record high of 991 tons as of the end of January 2025. To import, these companies must pay taxes to the Japanese government. The private import tax that rice importers must pay is 341 yen/kg.
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| Vietnamese Japonica rice looks like Japanese rice products and the taste is almost identical. Illustration photo |
Data on private rice imports only began to be kept from FY2019 onwards, with 426 tonnes imported in FY2020. Since then, private imports have typically ranged from 200 to 400 tonnes per year. But in FY2024, the figure reached 468 tonnes and then doubled to 991 tonnes by the end of January 2025.
Currently, rice prices in Japan have skyrocketed, with a 5kg bag costing more than 4,000 yen, nearly three times higher than last year. The price of Japonica rice produced in Vietnam and imported into Japan, including tax, is currently at 3,240 yen for a 5kg bag. At this price, imported Vietnamese rice is still about 800 yen/5kg cheaper than the price of the same type of rice in this market.
The question now is, Vietnam is one of the world's leading rice exporting countries, and Vietnamese rice is also entering its biggest harvest of the year - the Winter-Spring crop. Vietnam's rice export prices are also low. Among the export rice varieties, Vietnamese Japonica rice looks similar to Japanese products and tastes almost identical. In the context of the Japanese rice market being in a price crisis, is this an opportunity for Vietnamese rice?
Speaking to a reporter from the Industry and Trade Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Director of Phuoc Thanh IV Production and Trade Company Limited (Vinh Long) - said that the Japanese market is short of rice, this is not the first time it has happened. This also happened 3-4 years ago, and they are still short of rice. The reason is that Japan has a bad harvest, rice prices are constantly increasing.
For Vietnamese enterprises, most of the rice export to the Japanese market is done through companies in Japan. These are enterprises that have worked here before and are familiar with the culture of this market. For enterprises that have never exported to the Japanese market, they will be very hesitant.
The reason is that this is a very demanding market, with very strict requirements on residue standards. Accordingly, importing Vietnamese rice to Japan must pass regulations on pesticide residues with 624 inspection criteria such as: Growing soil, rice varieties, pests, pesticide residues, pesticides, rice quality, etc., and pass three inspections.
In addition, the procedures for importing rice into Japan are quite complicated. Normally, it takes up to a year and a half to get a license.
Another challenge is that Japanese consumers are familiar with Japanese rice because they like its sticky, delicious, and safe taste. They also value domestic products. Therefore, the type of rice exported to this market is also very 'choosy', businesses must have raw material areas in order to export. For example, Phuoc Thanh IV's business, because it does not have raw material areas, it is very difficult to export to this market.
“ The market standards are too strict, along with the intermittent import policy , so businesses are hesitant to export to this market. Only when the price of Japanese rice increases will they allow imports. In other words, this market opens a quota for imported rice. If the market is in short supply, they will import goods. When their inventory is a little surplus, they will stop importing ,” Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh informed.
Another issue that Mr. Thanh mentioned is that for export enterprises, if we do not have reliable partners, exporting rice to this market will be very risky. Because the type of rice exported to the Japanese market is quite picky, if the enterprise cannot sell to the Japanese market, it cannot sell domestically and cannot sell to other countries.
“ Japonica sticky rice, Most Southeast Asians do not like it, while only the Southeast Asian market uses a lot of rice. Some other countries such as those in the West Asian region do not eat this rice , they use Jasmine or ST rice, or other fragrant sticky rice varieties ," said Mr. Thanh.
Delicious is not enough
According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Vietnam's key rice export markets include the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. The EU and the United States are two markets that import high-quality rice varieties such as specialty fragrant rice ST24 and ST25 with a small market share of about 0.5-0.6% per year. Thus, Vietnam's main rice export markets do not include Japan.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, white rice accounts for about 71% and is mainly exported to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Africa. Fragrant rice such as Jasmine, Dai Thom, ST24, ST25 accounts for 19% and is mainly exported to the EU, the United States, China, and Japan. Japonica rice and other specialty rice accounts for 4% and is mainly consumed in Japan, Korea, and other high-end markets.
Speaking to reporters from the Industry and Trade Newspaper, agricultural expert Hoang Trong Thuy said that although the Japanese market is short of rice, prices are at a very high level. However, whether Vietnamese rice can be exported to this market or not is another matter. Japan only imports Japanese rice varieties grown in Vietnam. They trace the origin down to the native varieties, grown according to organic standards, not just buying them because they are delicious.
According to Mr. Hoang Trong Thuy, Japan has two types of rice imports. The first is rice imported by the government, because Japan is obliged to buy a certain amount from abroad according to the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The second type is imported by private individuals such as trading companies and other companies.
Japan's agriculture sector still maintains small-scale production, low output and is heavily dependent on government subsidies. Japan joined the CPTPP negotiations in a context where its agriculture sector was not yet fully prepared to sustain and survive the pressure of intra-bloc competition.
Meanwhile, according to businesses in the industry, Japan is not currently Vietnam’s main rice export market. In the Japanese market, Vietnamese rice is not yet competitive enough compared to rice from the United States, Thailand, China or Australia.
From 2012 to present, Vietnamese rice exported to the Japanese market mainly through non-commercial channels with insignificant quantity and mainly used for food processing such as cakes, miso sauce...
It is forecasted that Vietnam's rice exports to Japan in the coming time will still be difficult due to the downward trend in rice consumption demand of Japanese people, while Vietnamese rice still has to face fierce competition from rice from the United States, Thailand, and China - countries with a tradition and strength in exporting rice to Japan.
Japan currently has a rice import quota of 770,000 tons per year, of which 100,000 tons are imported by the government for food reserves. Fiscal year 2024 marks the first time in seven years that all of the government's rice imports have been sold, as soaring domestic rice prices have led to a rush to buy cheaper rice. In a December 2024 auction, buyers placed bids for 64,380 tons, while the offer was only 25,000 tons. The average selling price reached 548,246 yen/ton, a record high in the history of rice auctions in Japan. |
Source: https://congthuong.vn/gia-gao-nhat-ban-tang-soc-gao-viet-lieu-co-co-hoi-378817.html
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