After a series of days of being the highest and most expensive among the top rice exporting countries in the world, Vietnamese rice prices have fallen sharply.

The latest update from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) on February 7th, the export price of 5% broken rice from our country decreased to 399 USD/ton. Accordingly, Vietnamese rice is currently the cheapest in Asia, being 32 USD/ton lower than the same type of rice from Thailand, 14 USD/ton lower than Indian rice and 5 USD/ton lower than Pakistani rice.

This rarely happens, because in the world market, Vietnamese rice is in the same segment and quality as Thai rice. This product of our country mainly competes with Thai products, and the price is always higher than that of Indian and Pakistani products.

Notably, at 399 USD/ton, the price of Vietnamese rice is lower than the 533 USD/ton mark recorded on July 19, 2023 (before India issued a ban on rice exports).

Compared to the peak price of 663 USD/ton at the end of November 2023, the export price of 5% broken rice has decreased by 264 USD/ton, equivalent to a decrease of 39.8%.

This is also the lowest price since 2023. Not only that, the export price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam is also lower than the price of 25% broken rice from Thailand (410 USD/ton).

Similarly, the export price of 25% broken rice from our country also decreased to only 371 USD/ton. Meanwhile, the same type of rice from Thailand, India, and Pakistan is priced at 410 USD/ton, 394 USD/ton, and 377 USD/ton, respectively.

Explaining the reason for the sharp drop in Vietnamese rice export prices, a business leader said it was due to increased supply pressure when India reopened its exports. Therefore, the world market no longer has a situation where importers have to compete to buy like in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024.

In addition, traditional customers of Vietnamese rice all have plans to reduce imports this year. This also has a strong impact on the price of rice in our country.

Mr. Do Ha Nam - Vice President of VFA - said that the difficult situation is only temporary when importers want to continue waiting for better prices. Because Vietnamese rice has created a difference and has its own market segment.

Our country is about to enter the winter-spring harvest - the rice crop with the largest output of the year. The weather has been relatively favorable recently, so output is expected to be abundant. Therefore, some rice importers want to wait to buy rice at a cheaper price, Mr. Nam explained.

The latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that in January 2025, Vietnamese enterprises exported about 500,000 tons of rice, earning an estimated 308 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, the volume of exported rice increased by 1%, but the value decreased by 10.4% due to a sharp drop in prices.

According to many assessments, the demand for rice imports from other countries is still very large. However, the Vietnam Food Association forecasts that rice exports in 2025 will be relatively difficult. Our country's rice export output may only reach 7.5 million tons, down from the record of more than 9 million tons in 2024.

Taking home 5.7 billion USD and the song 'Rock Grain of Rice' It's not just a story of selling at a high price to take home 5.7 billion USD, the world sees Vietnamese rice differently, thanks to which the income of the people is also different. It's like the way young people see through the song 'Rock Grain of Rice'.