Agriculture & Food

2022 marks a new development step for Vietnam's rice industry. Rice with the brand "Vietnam Rice" is exported to Europe and put on the shelves in major supermarkets in France. Rice with the brand "Aan" is officially exported to Japan. At the same time, Vietnam's rice exports are increasingly entering the high-quality international trade market with high prices.

According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2022, the export volume of rice will reach 7 million tons, with an export volume of about 3.5 billion dollars. In terms of price, it is estimated that the average export price of Vietnamese rice in November 2022 will reach 493 US dollars/ton, up 3.1% from October 2022. In the first 11 months of 2022, the average export price of rice will reach 485 US dollars/ton.

In terms of relevant markets, in addition to the traditional markets such as the Philippines (Vietnam has the largest rice consumption, accounting for 44.9% and 42.9% of Vietnam's total rice exports and exports respectively), and the Chinese market (accounting for more than 12% of Vietnam's total rice exports and exports), Vietnam's rice has also been promoted to export to other potential markets, such as the countries parties to the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement of the Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union.

This is a great effort in rice export, because there will be many fluctuations in the export market in 2022; At the same time, the price of input materials keeps rising, which makes rice production and export face many difficulties. Therefore, in the first few months of 2022, Vietnam's rice export price showed a downward trend and began to rise in the third quarter of 2022.

Fan Taiping, general manager of Zhong'an High tech Agriculture Co., Ltd., said that in 2022, Zhong'an will focus on exporting fragrant rice and specialty rice to the high-quality market. Especially in the European market, the average export price of Zhong'an rice in 2022 will reach about 650 dollars/ton, especially the price of ST24 and ST25 rice will exceed 1000 dollars/ton. At present, the company is focusing on delivering all orders in 2022 to prepare for new orders in the first quarter of 2023.

Many Vietnamese rice processing international trade and export enterprises said that the world's demand for rice is large at present and will increase in the future. Part of the reason is that drought has seriously affected the agricultural production of many countries, forcing them to import rice for storage. At the same time, the Jiulong River Delta, a national barn, still maintained stable productivity and output, creating a rich source of rice for export. Due to the high demand for rice imports in some countries, rice prices are expected to continue to rise in the first quarter of 2023.

In addition to the key traditional markets in 2022, such as the Philippines, China and C ô te d'Ivoire, Vietnam still has many opportunities to increase its exports to other potential markets, especially by taking advantage of free trade agreements such as the Vietnam EU Free Trade Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and the Trans Pacific Partnership Comprehensive and Progress Agreement.

Li Qinghe, deputy director of the Bureau of Agricultural Products Processing and Market Development, said that Vietnam produces 43 million to 44 million tons of rice every year, equivalent to 22 million to 23 million tons of rice. Against the background of global inflation and economic instability, Vietnam is one of the few countries where the export of rice in international trade still keeps growing.

In the future, rice processing and export enterprises need to pay special attention to the Chinese market, especially in the context of many significant changes in China's import requirements (from plant quarantine, packaging, labeling, traceability, planting area code, etc.). At present, 22 Vietnamese enterprises are allowed to export rice to China. Vietnam also suggested that China increase more enterprises allowed to export white rice, fragrant rice and glutinous rice.

In addition to China, the EU and the UK are also two important international trade markets with great potential. Therefore, exporters need to keep close contact with procurement and processing units to meet certification, technical standards and product quality, so as to enhance the export value of rice in international trade.