The Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines reported that on January 9, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. hosted a working session with the office to discuss various cooperative contents, with a primary focus on rice trade. 

According to Secretary Francisco, the Philippines plans to import 3.6 million tonnes of rice in 2026, with 75% to 80% sourced from Vietnam. While the Philippines will not halt imports in 2026, the country will implement measures to manage import volumes, particularly during the harvest seasons of Filipino farmers.

Additionally, the Philippine Secretary of Agriculture provided information regarding import tariffs on rice from partner countries, including Vietnam.

Thanking Secretary Francisco for the information, Le Phu Cuong, Trade Counselor of the Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines, recommended that the Philippine Department of Agriculture should pay closer attention to cooperation mechanisms among ASEAN nations regarding consultations before issuing policies, especially as the Philippines serves as the ASEAN Chair in 2026.

Regarding the concretization of the bilateral rice agreement, the Philippine Secretary of Agriculture announced that both countries could promote exchanges to sign a contract for 2.5 million tonnes of rice. The Secretary also proposed that Vietnam open its market to seafood products, frozen chicken, and chicken feet.

Along with the market opening, the Trade Office also requested that the Philippine Department of Agriculture consider expanding the range of imported Vietnamese agricultural products.

Concurring with this proposal, the Philippine Secretary stated that the Philippines has a high demand for products such as fresh chili, bell peppers, garlic, carrots, and onions, thereby encouraging capable Vietnamese enterprises to promote the export of these items soon.

The Trade Office also proposed that the Philippines coordinate in sharing investment opportunities in the agricultural sector with Vietnamese agribusinesses and support Vietnamese firms investing in this field within the Philippines.

Sharing further with the Industry and Trade Newspaper regarding the bilateral trade cooperation, Le Phu Cuong noted that according to Vietnam Customs data, the total trade turnover between Vietnam and the Philippines in 2025 reached USD 7.8 billion, of which export turnover accounted for USD 5.4 billion, and import turnover reached USD 2.4 billion.

Rice remains the staple export to this market, with statistics showing that rice export turnover accounted for a significant share of bilateral trade in 2025, reaching nearly 30%. In addition, other export items experienced sharp increases in turnover, including transport vehicles and spare parts, as well as iron and steel products, in which the import and launch of VinFast electric taxi services by GSM under Vingroup contributed strongly to the growth of this category.

In the opposite direction, Vietnam imported machinery, equipment, tools, and other spare parts, accounting for 15% of the total, along with iron and steel products and various types of iron and steel, though their small proportions did not significantly impact the overall turnover.

In 2026, alongside favorable factors, trade activities between the two countries' enterprises are forecasted to face numerous difficulties and challenges due to intertwined impacts from the international and domestic environments. Therefore, fulfilling its role as an extended arm and economic ambassador of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2026, the Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines will proactively capture and analyze fluctuations that may affect trade with Vietnam, thereby providing timely advice to the Government and Ministry Leaders on appropriate policy responses while issuing early warnings to the business community.

In addition, the office will step up trade promotion activities to diversify export items to mitigate difficulties for rice, cement clinker, iron and steel, and transport vehicles, aiming to sustain export growth into the market.