Maintain the largest rice exporting country to Singapore
Citing statistics from the Singapore Enterprise Management Authority, the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore said that in the first 6 months of 2024, the total value of rice imports from the world to the Singapore market increased quite high at 13.62% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching nearly 224.5 million SGD.
In terms of volume, the total import volume of 9 main rice varieties (HS10062010, HS10062090, HS10063030, HS10063040, HS10063091, HS10063099, HS10064090, HS10063050, and HS10063070) is estimated at about 214,516 tons, up 12.98% over the same period in 2023.
Regarding the market share structure of rice products, white rice accounts for the largest market share (31.61%), followed by milled or dehusked fragrant rice (17.49%), hom-ma-li white rice (17.62%), and parboiled rice (14.93%). Other rice products are equally divided into the remaining segments.
According to statistics from this agency, the rice import market in Singapore in the first 6 months of 2024 continued to witness quite good growth in both import quantity and value. 8/9 main rice groups all grew well, some with very high increases such as: Glutinous rice (up 201.83%), milled or peeled fragrant rice (up 90.95%), parboiled rice (up 161.87%). The only group that also holds the largest market share is white rice, which witnessed a decrease of 29.86%.
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| Delegation of the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore and the Singapore Food Authority attended the Vietnam - Hau Giang International Rice Festival, December 2023 |
Notably, after the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam still maintained its position as the largest rice exporter to Singapore, accounting for 32.69% of the market share. "This was achieved thanks to a very high increase in export turnover, reaching a value of 73.40 million SGD, an increase of 54.67% over the same period in 2023" - the Trade Office informed, adding that Thailand and India held the next 2 positions with turnover of 70.73 million SGD and 58.41 million SGD, respectively. The total turnover of the top 3 exporting countries accounted for 90.21% of the rice market share in Singapore.
The strong increase in Singapore's rice import demand from 2023 will continue in the first 6 months of 2024, mainly due to India's ban on rice exports and the rapid recovery of tourist arrivals to Singapore, causing Singapore to increase rice imports.
Statistics also show that Vietnam's rice exports to the Singapore market in the first 6 months of 2024 continued to grow very well, reaching a turnover of about 74.4 million SGD, an increase of 54.67% over the same period in 2023. Notably, some groups continued to witness very strong growth: sticky rice (turnover of 8.9 million SGD, an increase of more than 5 times), broken rice (turnover of 1.5 million SGD, an increase of 187.3%) and milled or peeled fragrant rice (turnover of 27.27 million SGD, an increase of 161.35%).
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Displaying and promoting rice products in Singapore in December 2023. Photo: Le Duong |
Vietnam's main rice group in the Singapore market, white rice, increased slightly by 1.91%, reaching a turnover of 34.5 million SGD. The only group that decreased compared to the same period last year was regular brown rice (turnover of 102 thousand SGD, down 51.2%).
Currently, Vietnam is the country with the largest market share in Singapore for three rice groups: white rice (accounting for 48.62%); fragrant milled or peeled rice (accounting for 69.43%) and sticky rice (78.05%).
Meanwhile, India is the country that dominates the market for parboiled rice (accounting for 99.74%) and milled or dehusked basmati rice (accounting for 96.89%). For the remaining rice products, Thailand is the country with the largest market share, specifically: homali brown rice (99.18%), homali white rice (97.17%), broken rice (57.73%). For the regular brown rice group, Japan has the largest market share (74.89%).
Focus on trade promotion, boost exports
According to Mr. Cao Xuan Thang - Commercial Counselor, Head of Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, Thailand, India and Japan are Vietnam's biggest competitors in the Singapore rice market.
Basically, Singapore's rice market has a stable demand of 300 to 400 million SGD per year. The fact that India (which dominates the market share of white rice, a type of rice that Vietnam is strong in) issued a ban on exporting rice other than basmati from July 20, 2023, has been well taken advantage of by Vietnamese businesses to increase market share and export value to Singapore.
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Delegation of Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore and Singapore Food Authority working with Duong Vu Rice Company (Long An province), May 2024 |
In addition to the attention of industry associations and businesses in trade promotion and taking advantage of opportunities, the business support activities of the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore; along with the close direction of ministries, branches and localities have contributed to promoting the growth of rice export turnover to the Singapore market.
However, in terms of trade promotion, the promotion and introduction of Vietnamese rice products in the market is still relatively small, there are no large-scale promotional activities by enterprises focusing on rice products. Currently, trade promotion activities and the display of rice products in Singapore are mainly regularly implemented by the Vietnam Trade Office. Meanwhile, countries such as Thailand, Japan, and India are very interested in investing in promoting product images and have agreements with importers and distributors on maintaining the names and brands of their rice products.
Not to mention, Vietnamese rice exporting enterprises still pay little attention to investing in large-scale product promotion and introduction activities. Therefore, importers and distribution systems in Singapore often import Vietnamese rice with Singaporean packaging, designs and domestic brands for easy consumption in the market.
According to the Head of the Trade Office, this is the second consecutive quarter that Vietnam has held the top position in rice exports to the Singapore market. Therefore, businesses must continue to strive to find ways to improve their competitiveness and the quality of rice products, because the Singaporean rice market is closely managed by the Singaporean Government, as demonstrated by the Singaporean Government's review and issuance of import licenses; and direct inspection and testing of rice quality before it is put on the market.
In this context, the Commercial Counselor and Head of the Vietnam Trade Office proposed that signing an agreement and commitment at the Government level of the two countries on rice supply is necessary, which could contribute to stabilizing Vietnam's rice export turnover to Singapore.
" Vietnamese rice products are not only consumed in the Singapore market but also exported by Singaporean enterprises to other countries around the world. Therefore, enterprises need to pay attention to the important role of Singapore as a transit area, not just the area of nearly 6 million people of the island nation " - Mr. Cao Xuan Thang recommended and noted that, in order to promote increased market share, sustainably maintain the top position and compete with rice products from India and Thailand, it is necessary to continue to have the joint support of ministries, branches, localities, industry associations and Vietnamese rice enterprises.
Source: https://congthuong.vn/viet-nam-duy-tri-vi-tri-so-1-kim-ngach-xuat-khau-gao-sang-singapore-335333.html
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