Preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs show that by the end of May 2024, our country exported nearly 4.03 million tons of rice, earning 2.56 billion USD. Compared to the same period last year, rice exports increased by only 11.2% in volume but increased by 33.6% in value. Although the export price of rice has decreased sharply in recent days, the average price in the first 5 months of this year still reached 638 USD/ton, up 20.5% over the same period last year. In the past 5 months, rice exports to most major markets have grown positively. Notably, the two largest customers of Vietnamese rice in Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Indonesia, have both spent large amounts of money to buy, contributing to a sharp increase in export turnover of this item. Specifically, our country exported over 1.83 million tons of rice to the Philippines, worth more than 1.14 billion USD, up 19.6% in volume and 47.8% in value over the same period last year. Accordingly, the Philippines continued to hold the position of the largest customer of Vietnamese rice in the past 5 months. Similarly, rice exports to Indonesia continued to boom, reaching 676.8 thousand tons and earning 424.1 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, Vietnam's rice exports to this market increased sharply by 83.4% in volume and up to 133.8% in value. Currently, rice exports to the Philippines and Indonesia account for 61% of the total export value of this item in our country. In 2023, the Philippines will also be the largest customer of Vietnamese rice, accounting for 38.7% of total exports, reaching 3.14 million tons and earning 1.75 billion USD. Compared to the previous year, rice exports to this market decreased by 1% in volume but increased by 17.6% in value. Indonesia ranked second, accounting for 14.5% of our country's rice exports, equivalent to 1.18 million tons, worth 640.3 million USD, up 8.9 times in value compared to 2022 due to the country's shortage of domestic supply. Currently, the export price of 5% broken rice from our country is anchored at 573 USD/ton, 25% broken rice is priced at 552 USD/ton. According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), from June 1 to 6, 35 ships entered Ho Chi Minh City ports to queue with an expected quantity of 276,000 tons of rice to be shipped to other countries, mainly to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In fact, since the beginning of the year, Vietnamese enterprises have continuously won large rice contracts from Indonesia. For example, in January of this year, the Indonesian National Logistics Agency (Bulog) announced the results of a tender to supply 500,000 tons of rice. Of which, Vietnamese enterprises won 8/17 tenders to import 5% broken rice from this country, equivalent to 300,000 tons of rice. Recently, Bulog continued to buy 300,000 tons of rice in an international tender, with Vietnamese enterprises winning the bid with a volume of 109,000 tons of rice.

Rice exports to the Philippines and Indonesia increased sharply. Photo: Hoang Ha

VFA also announced that the Philippine government has approved a reduction in rice import tax from 35% to 15% for both in-quota and out-of-quota rice until 2028. The decision aims to lower rice prices and make rice more affordable for the majority of people, especially the poor in the Philippines. This tax rate also helps importers bring more rice from the world market. This is considered good news for Vietnamese rice, because nearly 80% of the Philippines' imported rice originates from Vietnam. Experts say that the Philippines' tax reduction will be a good opportunity for Vietnam's export activities because the export price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam is currently 51 USD/ton lower than the same type of rice from Thailand. Accordingly, Vietnamese rice will increase its price competitiveness and better reach consumers in this market. Mr. Pham Thai Binh - Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company - said that with the tax reduction policy of the Philippines, consumers of this country will benefit first. Because if importers pay high taxes, they will sell rice at high prices and vice versa. As for Vietnam, the tax reduction as mentioned above can help businesses sell rice at higher prices, especially when the world supply tends to be scarcer. If Vietnamese businesses increase the selling price of rice by 10-20 USD/ton, the import cost of the Philippines will still be lower than when the 35% tax was applied, Mr. Binh hypothesized.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hai-khach-o-dong-nam-a-chi-hon-1-56-ty-usd-gom-mua-gao-viet-nhan-them-tin-vui-2290978.html