| Vietnam's rice industry in 2023: When the time is right, the place is right, and the people are in harmony, raising the position of Vietnamese rice |
Name the 3 markets that buy the most rice from Vietnam
According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's rice exports in December 2023 reached 492,387 tons of rice, earning more than 338 million USD, down 18% in volume and 15% in price compared to November.
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| Philippines remains the largest market for Vietnamese rice in 2023 |
Accumulated for the whole year of 2023, rice exports earned nearly 4.68 billion USD with nearly 8.13 million tons, up 14.4% in volume and a sharp increase of 35% in value compared to the whole year of 2022. This is a record high number in more than 30 years of Vietnam participating in rice exports.
The average export price for the whole year reached 575 USD/ton, an increase of 18% compared to 2022. December was the month with the highest export price ever, compared to the beginning of 2023, the export price increased by 32%.
In terms of market, the Philippines is still the largest market for Vietnamese rice with more than 3.1 million tons in 2023, earning more than 1.7 billion USD, down 2.46% in volume but up 18% in value compared to 2022. The average export price reached 559 USD/ton, down 2.5% over the same period.
Notably, Indonesia has surpassed China to become the second largest customer of Vietnamese rice. In 2023, rice exports to this market earned more than 640 million USD with more than 1.17 million tons, a sharp increase of 878% in volume and 992% in value compared to the same period in 2022.
For China, Vietnam exported 917,255 tons to this market and earned more than 530 million USD, up 8% in volume and 23% in value over the same period last year. In 2022, China was the second largest customer of Vietnamese rice with a proportion of 12% in both volume and turnover.
2023 is a year of many fluctuations for rice after India announced a ban on the export of this important commodity. Countries have "flocked" to Vietnam and Thailand to find alternative supplies for the world's largest rice exporter, accounting for nearly a third of the global turnover.
Looking back at the whole year of 2023, at many times, Vietnam's 5% broken rice price continuously maintained at 663 USD/ton, while at the same time, the price of the same quality rice from Thailand was only 558 USD/ton, 105 USD/ton lower than Vietnamese rice.
Rice prices are expected to remain high.
Recently, Mr. Bayu Krisnamurthi - Director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) of Indonesia - said that the Government of this country has agreed to assign Bulog to import 2 million tons of rice in 2024 to ensure the stability of the national rice reserve (CBP) and respond to food shortage situations due to the lack of recovery of domestic production conditions. However, according to actual data, the quantity can be adjusted to ensure the national food supply.
Mr. Bayu said that the task of importing 2 million tons of rice in 2023 is difficult due to transportation problems. The siltation in the Suez Canal and conflicts in the Middle East have hindered the supply of imported food.
Currently, the government’s rice stockpiles (CBP) in Bulog warehouses are still maintained safely. Bulog will ensure the supply of 1.3 million tons of CBP for market operations and rice aid distribution starting from January 2024.
According to Mr. Bayu, rice prices will continue to increase this year because domestic production has not recovered, production costs remain high, especially fertilizer, and supply protection policies of rice-producing countries. Therefore, the rice import policy needs to continue to be implemented in the coming time.
Previously, President Jokowi confirmed that Indonesia will import 1 million tons of rice from India and 2 million tons from Thailand to ensure the safety of Indonesia's national rice reserves by 2024.
Regarding the market outlook for 2024, experts predict that rice prices will continue to be high due to limited supply, while demand in many countries is high.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecasts that rice exports will continue to be favorable due to a shortage of global supply and India is likely to continue to maintain export restrictions. Meanwhile, some traditional rice importing countries of Vietnam such as Indonesia and the Philippines have a need to increase rice imports...
Mr. Nguyen Vinh Trong - Director of Viet Hung Company Limited - forecasts that rice prices in 2024 and in the future will remain high, Vietnam should take advantage of production and export opportunities to increase income and improve farmers' lives.
Regarding the Philippine market, Mr. Phung Van Thanh - Vietnam's Trade Counselor in the Philippines - said that rice is an essential commodity here, like Vietnam, this country imports 3.5-4 million tons/year, and the same will happen in 2024. Vietnam is the Philippines' number 1 rice partner.
Vietnamese rice has the advantage of quality suitable for the people of this country, from the poor to the high-income people and competitive price. But that was years ago, now the price of Vietnamese rice is high so the issue of competition needs to be looked at again.
“Vietnamese businesses have also had long-standing relationships with import partners here and are geographically close to the Philippines. The Philippines recognizes its heavy dependence on Vietnamese rice and is diversifying its supply sources, but I believe we can still maintain our number 1 position,” said Mr. Phung Van Thanh.
The Philippine market still has a lot of room for Vietnam to continue exploiting. Vietnamese exporters need to maintain the Philippine market while expanding to new markets. In addition, they need to build their brands.
“Recently, we sent a delegation from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) to survey the Philippines, but unfortunately, we could not find Vietnamese rice on the market. Meanwhile, Japanese rice and Thai rice have very good brands. Many Filipinos eat Vietnamese rice but do not know about it. Exporting rice to the Philippines requires building a brand - a big task that needs to be done in addition to quantity,” Mr. Thanh raised the issue.
According to the forecast of the US Department of Agriculture, global rice production in the 2023-2024 crop year will reach nearly 518 million tons, while total consumption is 525 million tons. Thus, the world is forecast to have a shortage of about 7 million tons of rice in 2024. This creates opportunities for rice exporting countries, including Vietnam.
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