Vietnamese rice shines on global market

Export value sets new record

The year 2024 is nearing its end with positive results of agricultural exports, with rice standing out for the value exceeding US$5.3 billion, the highest level so far. Currently, Vietnam is the world’s third largest rice exporter, after India and Thailand.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade, attributed the recent strong growth in rice exports to high global prices, as countries focus on importing rice to meet domestic demand. Vietnam has increased the export of fragrant and high-quality rice, gradually reducing the export of lower-grade products, thus increasing the export value.

Vietnamese rice on shelf of a French supermarket - photo: Loc Troi Group

In 2024, Vietnam exported nine million tonnes of rice. Vietnamese farmers are focusing on cultivating high-quality rice varieties that are favored by international markets, such as Dai Thom 8, OM 18, and ST varieties, which sell at good prices and bring high economic efficiency.

According to the Vietnam Food Association, the average export price of Vietnamese rice has grown impressively by over 28 percent over the past three years, leading to a double-digit increase in export value. Notably, Vietnamese enterprises recently won the bids for export of 83,500 tonnes of rice to Indonesia.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Nam, President of the Vietnam Food Association, rice exports have grown significantly in recent years. The association’s members have made continuous efforts to improve product quality, diversify export products, and seek new export markets. As a result, Vietnam has firmly established itself as one of the world-leading rice exporters.

In late 2024, experts forecast rice prices might continue to rise due to limited domestic supply and the impact of storms and floods. The Philippines, a major importer of Vietnamese rice, has a high demand for fragrant rice, so despite increased supply from India, it cannot replace Vietnamese rice. Additionally, fulfilling the contract for Indonesia will help stabilize rice prices.

Rice exports reach a record high in 2024 - Photo: Can Dung

Opportunities for 2025

Nguyen Ngoc Nam, President of the Vietnam Food Association, predicted that rice exports will face many challenges in 2025, as India is forecast to export 22 million tonnes, an increase of 5 million tonnes compared to 2024.

Meanwhile, Indonesia, one of the world’s largest rice importers, is forecast to reduce the import volume. Notably, China also significantly reduced rice imports in 2024.

According to the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam, rice exports from many countries, including Vietnam, will face more challenges in 2025 compared to 2024, as global rice supply is expected to be more abundant.

However, businesses believe high-quality Vietnamese rice varieties will remain competitive in the global market. The price of specialty rice varieties with strong brands, such as ST 25, will likely not decrease and may even increase due to limited supply. While global rice prices are trending down, high demand from large markets helps maintain stable prices of high-quality rice varieties.

As of now, 95 percent of paddy varieties grown in Vietnam are of high-quality, and 89 percent of domestic rice production is of high quality. The price of Vietnamese rice remains at US$623 per tonne, despite India resuming rice exports. If Vietnam successfully implements the project of planting one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, the value of the rice sector will increase further, strengthening Vietnam’s advantage in this field./.