Rice exports in 2024 could reach 9 million tons

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that in November alone, Vietnam exported 700,000 tons of rice for 444.9 million USD, bringing the total volume and value of rice exports in the first 11 months of 2024 to nearly 8.5 million tons for 5.31 billion USD, up 10.6% in volume and 22.4% in value over the same period in 2023.

The Philippines was Vietnam's largest rice consumer market in the first 10 months, with a market share of 46.1%. Indonesia and Malaysia were the next two largest markets, with market shares of 13.5% and 8.2%, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, the value of rice exports to the Philippines increased by 59.1%, to the Indonesia market by 20.2%, and to the Malaysia market by 2.2 times.

Among the 15 largest rice exporting markets, the export value of rice increased the most in the Malaysian market with an increase of 2.2 times; the market with the sharpest decrease in export value was China with a decrease of 71.3%.

This is the first time Vietnam has had a rice export value of over 5 billion USD. This result is due to the average export price of rice in the first 11 months of 2024 estimated at 627.9 USD/ton, an increase of 10.6% over the same period in 2023. Currently, the proportion of fragrant rice exported by Vietnam is 20%, white rice is 70%, the rest is Japonica rice and glutinous rice.

Vietnam is not the only country that has seen significant growth in exports. Thailand is expected to export more than 9 million tons of rice in 2024, worth more than $6.4 billion. The announcement from the Thai Ministry of Commerce stated that the strong increase in rice exports was due to continuous orders, increased crop yields and high quality thanks to adequate water supply for cultivation, as well as high demand for Thai fragrant rice in key markets.

Since late October, after India - the world's largest rice exporter - returned to the rice export market, rice prices in the Asian market have fallen sharply. The price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam also dropped slightly to nearly 500 USD/ton. However, since the second half of November, the price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam has returned to 515 - 520 USD/ton, maintaining the highest level in the world.

Not only that, although India's return has an impact on 5% rice, high-quality, fragrant rice is not affected by this country's move. This helps Vietnamese rice maintain its position in the group of the world's largest rice exporting countries.

"Vietnam is gradually building a rice industry that is relatively different from other countries. At the same time, it focuses on fragrant rice and high-quality rice, gradually reducing low-quality rice. From there, it gradually forms a market with separate goods and creates separate prices," said Mr. Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Intimex Group.

Ms. Tran Kim Lien, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Vinaseed Group, once shared that enterprises participating in rice production and trading have changed a lot, focusing on improving infrastructure, innovating processing, preservation and production organization. Many enterprises have spent tens of millions of USD to modernize facilities, expand production and improve processing and storage capacity.

To confidently enter the EU and Japanese markets... Vinaseed has planned each production area separately, taking market standards as a research target to meet them right from the start. To build a rice value chain, it is necessary to locate specialized production areas with natural advantages and comply with the process to achieve the safest rice quality, Ms. Tran Thi Lien said.

Vietnam's rice export achievements must include domestic rice production. To date, the country's harvested rice area has reached 6,853,800 hectares, equal to 100.1% compared to the same period. Estimated output on the harvested area is 42.12 million tons, equal to 101.1% compared to the same period, with an average yield of 61.5 quintals/ha, an increase of 0.6 quintals/ha.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates that by 2024, the country's rice production will reach over 43 million tons, meeting diverse domestic market needs for seeding, processing, storage and world food security.

With the above premises and opportunities in export, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien assessed that Vietnam can export 9 million tons of rice in 2024. This is the result of a long process of the agricultural sector coordinating with localities to persistently implement the goals of restructuring the agricultural sector, including rice, towards increasing value and quality, towards reducing emissions with the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, which is being strongly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with localities in the Mekong Delta region.

“Up to now, 95% of Vietnam’s rice varieties are high-quality rice varieties, 89% of rice output is high-quality rice. If Vietnam successfully implements the project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030, the value of the rice industry will certainly increase even more. That is the country’s advantage,” said Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.

While there is no carbon credit market yet, to contribute to the success of the project, Mr. Huynh Van Thon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Loc Troi Group, said that it is necessary to build a rice brand that reduces emissions, reorganize the domestic market, and reorganize exports.

In addition, to gradually build a brand for rice products that reduce emissions in the project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is researching to build a brand for Vietnamese rice products aiming to meet high quality and low emission standards.