Ukraine tops Vietnamese rice export markets in price

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According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in February 2025, Vietnam exported 696,750 tonnes of rice worth US$358.3 million. Compared to February 2024, the export volume increased by 26 percent, while the export value decreased by 1.8 percent.

The Philippines remained the largest importer of Vietnamese rice, with the value reaching US$158.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 11.2 percent. The Ivory Coast ranked second with US$58.8 million, recording a sharp increase of 1,081 percent compared to US$4.9 million in February 2024. Other markets with the export value exceeding US$10 million included Ghana with US$28.7 million, up 155 percent; China with US$26 million, a 258 percent increase from US$7.2 million in February 2024; and Bangladesh with US$14.3 million and no export data recorded for February 2024.

The value of rice exports to these five markets reached US$286 million, accounting for 80 percent of Vietnam’s total rice export value. Some markets saw strong growth in February 2025, including Spain, up 280 percent year-on-year to US$0.19 million; Tanzania, up 312% to US$0.33 million; the US, up 106 percent to US$2.8 million; and Hong Kong (China), up 83 percent to US$3.35 million.

Meanwhile, several markets experienced a sharp decline. Rice exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) dropped by 45 percent year-on-year to US$1.81 million; exports to Mozambique also fell by 45 percent to US$1.48 million; and exports to Malaysia decreased by 31 percent to US$6.9 million. Notably, exports to Indonesia plummeted by 96 percent, reaching only US$4.2 million compared to US$123.6 million in February 2024. In 2024, Vietnam exported 1.25 million tonnes of rice worth US$746 million to Indonesia. This sharp decline occurred as Indonesia planned not to import rice in 2025. During the ‘Indonesia Economic Outlook 2025’ event held in Jakarta on February 26, 2025, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, stated that with a domestic rice production forecast of 34 million tonnes, Indonesia had no plans to import rice this year.

Regarding prices, calculations based on data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs indicate that the average rice export price in February 2025 was US$514.2 per tonne, a 22 percent decrease year-on-year. The export price to the Philippines was US$491.8 per tonne, down 24 percent. The average export price to other major markets also declined significantly, with the Ivory Coast down 27 percent to US$492.7 per tonne; Ghana down 31 percent to US$542 per tonne; and China down 19.5 percent to US$474 per tonne.

In February 2025, Ukraine had the highest average export price for Vietnamese rice, US$1,019 per tonne, up 18.5 percent from February 2024. Other markets with high prices included Brunei at US$992 per tonne, with no export data for February 2024; the US at US$913 per tonne, down 0.3 percent; Poland at US$857 per tonne, up 19 percent; Australia at US$806.9 per tonne, down 0.8 percent; and France at US$804 per tonne, down 1.3 percent.

Overall, Vietnam’s rice exports in February 2025 showed positive growth in some markets, but were significantly affected by Indonesia’s import policy changes and decreases in export prices.