Vietnam's rice exports continue to be active in the second quarter

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, rice exports reached 1.86 million tons in the first quarter, worth more than US$ 981 million, up 23.4% in volume and 34.3% in turnover over the same period of 2022.

Vietnam's rice exports in the first quarter grew enormously due to changes in supply and demand in the world market.

Mr. Bach Ngoc Van, Deputy General Director of the Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2), said that during the global Covid epidemic, the prices of many agricultural products increased. Still, rice prices decreased, with almost no increase. The reason was that the worldwide rice inventory is still relatively high, at over 180 million tons.

From the end of 2022 until now, the high price of Vietnamese rice exports and increased import demand from many essential markets, such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, etc., have helped Vietnam's rice exports prosper in the first quarter of this year. According to Mr. Van, the high price of Vietnamese rice recently has been due to the world rice market when the total rice reserve has decreased to about 170 million tons, while consumer demand has increased.

Therefore, in the first quarter of the year, Vietnam's export price was always reasonable, higher than the peak price in 2022. Only in the first two months of the year, the average export price of Vietnam's rice was at $US 529/ton, an increase of 9.8% over the same period in 2022. Therefore, the domestic commodity rice price also increased, surpassing the highest level in the previous year.

In the second quarter, the outlook for rice exports is still magnificent due to the additional supply from the winter-spring harvest. Meanwhile, the demand in traditional markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and China is increasing.

Vietnam's rice exports to China have prospered since the beginning of this year after the country reopened its economy after nearly three years of closure against the epidemic. In the first quarter, the amount of rice Vietnam exported to China was 340 thousand tons, worth US$ 199 million, up sharply compared to 178 thousand tons and US$ 90 million in the first quarter of 2022. In the early days of the first quarter, Chinese traders still want to buy many types of Vietnamese rice, incredibly fragrant and sticky rice, in large quantities.

Since the end of last year in Indonesia, President Joko Widodo has stepped up rice import activities to strengthen the national stockpile. One of the essential supplies that Indonesia has access to is Vietnam. In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam's rice exports to Indonesia reached 149 thousand tons, worth US$ 70 million, while in the first quarter of 2022, only 824 tons of Vietnamese rice were exported to this market, worth US$ 393,000.

In March 2023, the Indonesian Government decided to import 2 million tons of rice for the national reserve this year, of which 500,000 tons should be done as soon as possible. This is an opportunity for Vietnam to continue promoting rice exports to Indonesia in the second quarter and for the whole year.

In the first quarter, Vietnam exported 893 thousand tons of rice worth US$ 450 million to the Philippines - the largest market of Vietnamese rice. Last year, the Philippines imported a record 3.75 million tons of rice, more than 80% of which came from Vietnam. This year, the Philippines' rice production is expected at 12.4 million tons, 129,000 tons lower than last year. Besides, the country's rice consumption is expected to increase by 2% to a record 15.75 million tons. Therefore, it is likely that the Philippines' rice imports will continue to be at a record high like last year.

In the first quarter of 2023, Long An province exported nearly 224 thousand tons of rice, approximately the amount of rice exported by this province in the first six months of 2022.

Long An is one of the largest rice-producing provinces in the Mekong Delta. In 2022, the province's total rice production reached over 2.8 million tons.

Long An province currently has 25 rice exporters. In 2022, these enterprises exported over 593,300 tons, with a turnover of over US$ 307 million. The main export markets of rice enterprises based in Long An are China, Hong Kong, and Africa. China's export market alone reached 215,800 tons, accounting for more than 36% of the province's total rice export output.

In addition to the traditional markets, Long An rice has also entered into many fastidious markets such as the EU, the US, Canada, and Dubai.