Vietnam's rice export prices skyrocket, highest ever

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam's rice export prices have skyrocketed, reaching an all-time high and much higher than the rice export prices of other countries.

Specifically, the current export price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam is at 653 USD/ton, an increase of 10 USD/ton; the price of 25% broken rice is at 638 USD/ton, the highest ever.

Meanwhile, the export price of rice from Thailand and Pakistan continued to decrease. Currently, the export price of 5% broken rice from Thailand is at 560 USD/ton, down 4 USD/ton compared to the previous trading session, the price of 25% broken rice is 520 USD/ton. The price of 5% broken rice from Pakistan is at 563 USD/ton, the price of 25% broken rice is 488 USD/ton.

Thus, after adjustment, Vietnam's 5% broken rice is currently 92 USD/ton higher than the same type of Thai rice and 90 USD/ton higher than Pakistani rice. Meanwhile, Vietnam's 25% broken rice is 118 USD/ton higher than Thai rice and 150 USD/ton higher than Pakistani rice.

According to the Vietnam Food Association, Vietnam still has a lot of room for rice exports as Vietnam's major rice consuming markets are continuously increasing their demand. Specifically, the Philippines is in need of importing an additional 1.1 million tons, Indonesia is in need of importing 2.3 million tons of rice. Along with that, the demand for rice imports from China is also expected to increase in the last months of the year.

Exporters believe that Vietnam’s rice export prices will remain high and will be difficult to decrease even during the upcoming autumn-winter and winter-spring harvests. The reason is that global rice demand tends to increase over the years, while supply from rice-growing countries decreases due to the impact of climate change.

In addition, Vietnam has the advantage of exporting fragrant, high-quality rice that is favored by many markets. Based on the supply and demand situation, businesses forecast that in the last months of this year and early next year, the export price of rice may remain at 640-650 USD/ton.

The high export price of rice also caused the domestic rice price to increase. In the Mekong Delta region, the price of rice varieties such as Dai Thom 8, OM 5451, IR 504... is approximately 9,000 VND/kg. Similarly, the price of raw rice of all kinds is also very high; in which, 5% broken rice is currently at 15,343 VND/kg, an increase of more than 3,000 VND/kg compared to July 2023, and 25% broken rice is currently priced at 14,725 VND/kg, an increase of nearly 3,000 VND/kg.

Rice exporting businesses said they were more worried than happy when rice export prices hit a peak because the higher the price, the more difficult it is to purchase and close orders.

A representative of a rice exporting enterprise in Can Tho said that the domestic rice market has entered the end of the harvest season, the supply is not much but the selling price is fluctuating strongly. Enterprises are having to buy fresh rice at the field at 8,000-8,200 VND/kg, an increase of about 30% compared to the beginning of the year. This is the highest purchase price ever but the purchase volume is not much.

Mr. Nguyen Van Don, Director of Viet Hung Company Limited (Tien Giang), informed that at this time, the amount of rice in stock of enterprises is very small, almost exhausted while purchasing has slowed down, so many enterprises do not dare to sign new contracts for fear that rice prices will increase, leading to losses.

Exporters are waiting for supply from the Autumn-Winter crop, but the Autumn-Winter rice output is not too much. With the world's rice demand continuously increasing as it is now, the price of Vietnamese rice will hardly decrease, but on the contrary, it may increase further in the near future.

According to data from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's rice exports in October 2023 reached 700,000 tons, with a turnover of 433 million USD, equivalent in volume but up 27% in value over the same period in 2022.

In the first 10 months of 2023, Vietnam exported more than 7.1 million tons of rice, with a turnover of nearly 4 billion USD, up 17% in volume and 35% in value over the same period in 2022.

Thus, in the first 10 months of 2023, rice export turnover reached the highest level compared to the same period in many years. According to estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2023, Vietnam can export about 7.8 million tons of rice, with a turnover of about 4.2-4.5 billion USD.