Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan gave a speech at the conference. Photo: N.H

At the conference assessing the rice exports in the first quarter of 2023 and the direction of rice export management in the future held by the MoIT on April 26, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), said that as of April 15, Vietnam had exported 2,371 million tons of rice, worth US$1,251 million, up nearly 34% in volume and nearly 45% in value over the same period in 2022.

According to Tran Quoc Toan, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department - MoIT, Vietnam's rice exports to some traditional markets achieved good growth in the first quarter of 2023. Notably, the Indonesian market recorded an increase of nearly 180 times in volume and more than 177 times in turnover compared to the same period in 2022, with 148.5 thousand tons and US$69.7 million. Currently, Indonesia accounts for 8% of the total weight and 7.1% of Vietnam's total rice exports.

The Philippines - Vietnam's largest rice import market, accounting for nearly 48.3% of total exports and 45.9% of total exports in the first quarter of 2023, also recorded an increase of 32.9% in volume and 44.8% in turnover over the same period in 2022. Accordingly, rice exports to the Philippines reached 893.2 thousand tons with a value of US$450.4 million.

Rice exports to the Chinese market reached 340.3 thousand tons with a value of US$199 million, up 90.7% in volume and 118.8 % in turnover over the same period in 2022.

Many other Asian markets also achieved high growth, such as Singapore, up 30.7%, and Taiwan (China) tripled, which increased Vietnam's rice export turnover to Asian markets. As a result, Asia reached nearly 1.57 million tons, accounting for more than 84.7% of total exports and up 52.2% over the same period in 2022.

Although the European market only accounts for a small proportion (about 1.7%) of Vietnam's total exports, it still reaches 32 thousand tons, a good growth of nearly 11% compared to the same period in 2022. Especially the EU region, which favours fragrant and high-quality rice, continuously had strong growth as the Netherlands reached 4.6 thousand tons, two times higher than in the same period in 2022; Poland reached 1.5 thousand tons, increased two times; and Belgium reached 1.5 thousand tons, up 58.5%.

"This showed that the quality of Vietnam's rice is increasing, meeting the requirements of even fastidious markets. Simultaneously, it affirmed the potential to expand the market and increase the market share of Vietnam's high-quality rice," said Toan.

According to the MoIT, the structure of exported rice is on the right track; white rice usually accounts for a stable proportion; fragrant rice and sticky rice are increasing in export value. Additionally, although the export of organic rice and rice fortified with micronutrients has had a modest proportion, it has diversified Vietnam's export rice varieties and confirmed the value of exported rice grains.

In particular, in the first quarter of 2023, although Quang Tri Organic Agricultural Products JSC did not have a certificate of eligibility for rice export business, it took advantage of the incentives of Decree No. 107/2018/ND-CP to export organic rice. The export volume was still modest, but this was a signal that the business had initially focused on methodical investment, aiming to export high-value rice products, creating momentum to promote the export of organic rice in the future.

The export price of rice was also a bright spot in the first quarter of 2023 as it continued to maintain its growth momentum. Many times in the months, the export price of 5% broken rice ranked first in the world, higher than the price of the same type of Thailand and India.

At the conference, the Department of Industry and Trade of Localities and Businesses said that the output for Vietnamese rice was very good because all countries have increased demand for rice imports. The current issue is to organize production to improve quality. Accordingly, localities and businesses all want to build fields associated with farmers to expand the area of high-quality rice to raise the price of Vietnam's export rice.

Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said that although the market had many positive signals, to promote the growth of the rice industry in the future, relevant associations, businesses, and units need to urgently review and make recommendations for the MoIT to study and propose to amend decrees on rice export business such as Decree 103 and Decree 107/2018 to facilitate businesses.

On the side of the MoIT, Tan said he would continue to report to the Prime Minister for approval of the rice export strategy with a vision to 2030 so that businesses and localities had a basis for synchronous implementation.

The MoIT will continuously coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in restructuring specific varieties, planting area codes for rice import and export strategies, and restructuring export markets to better supply rice to the market. In addition, propagate and guide the implementation of commitments of Vietnam and other countries so businesses can make better use of the trade agreements.

The MoIT also continuously promote its role as a link between traders to orient export, actively negotiate and sign export contracts, and improve the position of Vietnamese rice in some major consuming markets.