Reasons why retail rice prices are down but few customers are buying

Since the beginning of 2025, the price of paddy and rice exports has “plummeted”, down 40-50% compared to last year. However, domestic retail rice prices remain high. In recent days, retail rice prices in Ho Chi Minh City have begun to decrease slightly by about 1,000-2,000 VND/kg, but there have been very few buyers.

At noon on February 20, in the area near Hoa Binh market (District 5, HCMC), many business stalls Rice and sticky rice have few customers. A rice vendor here said that in recent days, rice price Retail prices of all types have decreased by 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg but very few customers buy.

Here, the cheapest jasmine rice, fluffy broken rice, and fragrant broken rice are 18,000 VND/kg; soft broken rice is 19,000 VND/kg; Nang Hoa rice is 22,000 VND/kg; jasmine rice noodles are 25,000 VND/kg...

Retail rice prices in Ho Chi Minh City have slightly decreased, although currently export rice prices are falling sharply.

About the reason Price reduction, this person said, rice suppliers reduced prices so retail also reduced.

Thuy Dung rice stall (Ba Chieu market, Binh Thanh district) also displays dozens of types of rice waiting for customers, each type discounted by 2,000 VND/kg. "Because prices have changed continuously recently, we still keep the listed price as it was during Tet, customers will be notified discount 2,000 VND/kg above the listed price" - said the rice stall owner.

After the discount, the price of rice at Thuy Dung stall is around 18,000 - 20,000 VND/kg such as fragrant dai rice, cherry rice, Hai Hau xoan rice, Nang Thom rice from Dao market...

According to a survey by Tien Phong reporters, rice prices have decreased mostly in the mid-range segment, while high-end and branded rice prices have not decreased.

High-quality rice and branded rice have not changed their domestic prices.

Talking to PV Tien Phong, Mr. Dinh Quang Thanh, representative of Phuong Nam rice store (District 3) said that many types of branded rice such as ST25 Mr. Cua has stable prices and has not heard any announcements from suppliers about price reductions. Specifically, premium ST25 rice costs 41,000 VND/kg; ST25 rice-shrimp rice costs 43,000 VND/kg; premium rice costs 52,000 VND/kg and organic ST25 is 80,000 VND/kg...

“In 2024, rice will have a harvest. increase in price and stable until now. Regarding the price reduction of rice, it also depends on the type of rice. Sometimes it also depends on the purchase, like ST25 rice has been purchased since Tet" - Mr. Thanh said.

The discounted rice is mostly regular rice, with prices slightly reduced by 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg.

Also according to Mr. Thanh, from the beginning of 2025, the amount of rice exported by rice ST25 Mr. Cua reduced due to lack of quantity, but domestically on fire goods, especially timing Lunar New Year just now.

"Current number of visitors buy rice is decreasing. The reason is that right after Tet, every household has stored rice in their house, so it is usually not until the end of the first lunar month that customers start buying rice again" - Mr. Thanh said.

Many rice dealers in Ho Chi Minh City said that because they have imported goods at high prices, domestic rice prices cannot be reduced immediately and need to be delayed. In addition, related costs such as transportation, storage, and labor have all increased, making it difficult for prices to decrease quickly. "When we sell out the rice stored in the warehouse and import new goods at reduced prices, we will reduce the retail price for consumers," said Ms. Thanh Ha, owner of a stall at Ga Market, Gao Market (District 1).

Meanwhile, supermarket chains have not yet made any price cuts because they focus on the mid- and high-end segments, which are less volatile. Furthermore, supply contracts between supermarkets and distributors are often long-term and have delays, making retail prices less affected when raw rice prices decrease.

Many rice stalls and rice dealers have recorded slow purchasing power after Tet.

According to Mr. Pham Thai Binh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City) - this year, Vietnam's rice export prices have continuously dropped, currently the lowest among exporting countries such as Thailand, Pakistan... Price rice export The reduction also pulled down domestic rice prices.

Data from the Vietnam Food Association shows that normal rice in the field is only at an average of 5,400 VND/kg, fragrant rice is 7,000 - 8,500 VND/kg, fragrant rice in warehouses is 7,000 - 8,500 VND/kg. reduce down to 8,000 - 9,500 VND/kg, 40 - 50% lower than last year.

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