Hanoi (VNA)📖 - The Vietnamese trade counselor in China has reminded businesses to keep updated on market information, tap opportunities, and diversify trade promotion to promote rice export in the coming time.

As demand and prices continue to rise, Vietnamese rice exporters need to take full advantage of opportunities to promote rice exports, said insiders. Delegates discussed the rice sector parameters at a meeting on trade promotion held in Hanoi on February 29 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) with its Vietnam trade office system abroad.

Positive signs

Experts predict that the rice import demand of many countries will increase in 2024, including Vietnam's largest rice export markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia and China. According to Vietnamese Trade Counselor in the Philippines Phung Van Thanh, in recent years, the Philippines has always been the largest rice importer of Vietnam. The country imports about 3-4 million tonnes of rice per year, mainly from Vietnam. The Philippines imported 3.2 million tonnes of rice from Vietnam in 2022 and 3.1 million tonnes in 2023. Despite the decrease in quantity, the price of Vietnamese rice has increased, reaching over 560 USD per tonne. The figures show that Vietnam is an important rice supplier for the Philippines to ensure food security, Thanh said. "Many businesses have built trust and credibility with their Filipino counterparts, particularly in high-quality rice products, which have gained significant advantages.” Thanh said. However, he noted businesses should focus more on lower-grade rice varieties (cheap rice) to capitalise on the large number of low- and middle-income customers in this country.

In January 2024, Vietnam exported 27,256 tonnes of rice worth 18.08 million USD to Indonesia, accounting for nearly 5% of the total quantity and 3.2% of the total rice export turnover of the country in the period. Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Indonesia Pham The Cuong said the Indonesian government recently decided to increase the rice import quota in 2024 by 1.6 million tonnes due to a shortage in domestic rice supply. So far, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade has approved the import of 2 million tonnes of rice, and it will soon issue import certificates for an additional 1.6 million tonnes. Cuong said that rice prices in Indonesia have increased significantly in recent days due to supply shortages. It is forecast that the Indonesian Government will issue a tender to purchase rice to buy 500,000 tonnes soon after the one on January 17 during which Vietnamese enterprises won the bid to supply more than 300,000 tonnes to this market.

Focusing on brand development

According to data from the General Statistics Office, since the outset of the year, the country has earned 466.6 million USD from exporting more than 663,200 tonnes of rice, rising 14.4% in volume and 53% in value from the same period last year. The average export rice price stands at 703.5 USD per tonne, up 33.65% compared to the same period in 2023. Last year, Vietnam shipped more than 8.1 million tonnes of rice worth nearly 4.7 billion USD abroad, up 14.4% in volume and 35.3% in value year-on-year. The largest rice export market for Vietnam in 2023 was ASEAN, hitting 4.9 million tonnes, accounting for up to 61% of the country's total rice exports. This is a 24% increase compared to the previous year. Additionally, Vietnamese rice was also exported to other markets such as China, Ghana, and others.

Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, proposed that the MoIT should quickly provide up-to-date information on export and import data of countries, thereby helping businesses proactively design their rice export plans. At the same time, the ministry also needs to raise business awareness in meeting the standards of export markets and conduct research, negotiate, and sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with partners to further increase quotas for importing Vietnamese rice, Nam said. Vu Ba Phu, Director of the MoIT’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, also noted that the trade offices should include in their monthly reports updates on the rice market situation and the management of rice products in the host country, thereby helping the agency provide timely support to localities in rice production and business./.