Africa emerges as promising destination for Vietnamese rice

The Philippine Government’s decision to suspend rice imports for 60 days starting from September 1, 2025, has greatly affected Viet Nam’s rice exports. According to the General Department of Customs, both the volume and value of rice exports dropped sharply in September, reaching only 467 thousand tons worth 232 million USD, which is a decrease of 46.2% in volume and 46.8% in value compared to August. Compared with September 2024, rice export volume fell by 43.3%, while export value declined by 54.7%.

Due to the sharp drop in September, total rice exports in the first nine months of the year decreased by 2% year-on-year, reaching only 6.8 million tons, while export value fell by 20% to 3.5 billion USD.

Taking it even further, the Philippine Government has recently decided to extend the temporary suspension of rice imports. Regarding this issue, Mr. Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA), said that in recent days, there has been information suggesting that the Philippines would extend the rice import suspension by another 60 days. However, the official information received by the VFA confirms that the suspension will be extended by 30 more days, until the end of November 2025.

Among the major markets that can partly ease the pressure from the Philippine market, Africa stands out as the most promising destination.

The extension of the Philippines' import suspension will continue to create additional challenges for Viet Nam’s rice exports. The Philippines has long been Viet Nam’s largest market, accounting for around 40% of total rice exports. In 2024, Viet Nam exported 9 million tons of rice, of which 4.22 million tons were shipped to the Philippines, representing 46.7% of the total.

In the first eight months of this year, Viet Nam exported over 2.9 million tons of rice to the Philippines. With the ongoing import suspension, this figure will remain stagnant at least until the end of November. This means that the food industry and exporting enterprises must make significant efforts in the coming months to find alternative outlets for a substantial volume of rice.

Shifting to other markets has, therefore, become the top solution considered by local rice exporters. 

Since the beginning of the year, Viet Nam’s rice exports to Africa have grown strongly, with several African markets recording double- or even triple-digit growth. For example, in the first eight months of this year, exports to Ghana reached 662,000 tons, worth 373 million USD, up 95% in volume and 59% in value compared to the same period in 2024. Similarly, exports to Côte d’Ivoire totaled 754,000 tons, worth 349 million USD, increasing 156% in volume and 96% in value year-on-year.

Due to strong demand from African markets, Vietnamese rice exporters boosted exports to the Philippines during the first eight months of the year and focused heavily on shipping rice to Africa. Therefore, after the Philippines suspended rice imports, Vietnamese enterprises have been directing even more efforts toward the African market.

The biggest challenge currently facing Vietnamese rice exporters is the rising cost burden caused by large stockpiles amid a sharp decline in exports.

According to Mr. Do Ha Nam, rice exports became difficult due to the Philippines’ temporary import suspension, following the Government’s directive on rice stockpiling. Many enterprises began purchasing and storing rice for export. Although there are no official figures yet on the amount of rice currently held in storage, with the Philippines extending its suspension period, companies that bought and stored rice in recent months are facing severe financial strain as storage costs continue to rise daily.

Another major difficulty for rice exporters is the delay in value-added tax (VAT) refunds. In the last few months of the year, enterprises are estimated to need to spend around 2,000 billion VND to purchase and consume all the rice produced by farmers.

If VAT refunds continue to be delayed, even leading enterprises in the rice sector will face significant financial difficulties, especially as they are making strong efforts to purchase and sell farmers’ rice while also bearing the rising costs of temporary storage.