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Throughout the reviewed period the Philippines imported roughly 780,069 tonnes of rice, including 656,133 tonnes from Vietnam.

This comes after the Philippines had imported 778,986 tonnes of rice during the same period last year.

Harvesting rice (Photo: VNA)

In a recent report released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) it was projected that Filipino rice imports could reach two million tonnes this year, a drop of 18.36% compared to the volume recorded last year due to their ambitions of producing more rice in the year ahead, according to VOV.

This comes after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte used an executive order to cut the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rates on rice to 35% from 40% for in-quota purchases and 50% for out-quota volume for one year.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade believes that the lowering of tariffs on imported rice can serve to open up plenty of opportunities for the nation to maintain a stable supply of the product, whilst also helping the Philippines to stablise their domestic market.

Vietnam's rice exports in 4 months reached USD 362 million

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the volume of rice exports in April 2021 was estimated at 700,000 tons with a value of US$362 million, bringing the total volume of rice exports in the first 4 months of 2021 to 1.9 million tons with a value of US$1.01 billion, down 10.8% in volume but up 1.2% in value over the same period in 2020.

Photo; Hanoitimes

In the first 3 months of 2021, the Philippines was the biggest rice consuming market with 36.3% of the market share, volume and value reaching 411,580 tons and USD219.96 million, respectively, down 30.7% in volume and down 14.5% in value over the same period in 2020.

The markets with a strong increase in rice export value were Ivory Coast with a 2.7 times rise and Australia with year-on-year growth of 66%. In contrast, the market with a big decrease in rice export value was Mozambique (down 53.5%). The average export price of rice in the first 3 months of 2021 reached US$547.8/ton, up 18.6% over the same period in 2020.

Regarding export categories, in the first three months of 2021, the export value of white rice accounted for 39.3% of the total turnover; jasmine rice and fragrant rice accounted for 36.0%; sticky rice accounted for 22.0%; japonica rice and Japanese rice varieties accounted for 2.6%, while other types of rice accounted for 0.1%.

The biggest white rice importers of Vietnam were the Philippines (63.1%), Cuba (12.6%) and Malaysia (5.7%).

For jasmine rice and fragrant rice, the biggest importers were the Philippines (21.9%), Ghana (19.8%) and Ivory Coast (16.8%). For glutinous rice, the major importers were China (82.5%), Malaysia (6.7%) and the Philippines (4.3%). With japonica rice and Japanese rice varieties, Vietnam’s biggest and second biggest importers were Solomon Islands (11.8 percent) and Cambodia (11.8 percent), followed by Saudi Arabia (8.7 percent). %).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2021, unfavorable weather conditions are forecasted in many parts of the world, so food production will decrease in many countries and the demand for rice imports will increase in 2021. European market is forecasted to be more exciting when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) comes into effect, in which Vietnam is an important rice trading partner.

Photo: The Saigon Times

Experts have said that if Vietnam wants to maintain rice export growth in 2021 it needs to focus on building a complete rice value chain and controlling quality in production, processing, and distribution.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s rice output totaled 42.8 million tonnes in 2020, down about 0.2 percent because of the shrinkage of some 192,000 hectares in farming areas. However, the productivity rose 50kg per hectare from a year earlier.

The country exported 6.15 tonnes of rice for USD3.07 billion last year, down 3.5 percent in volume but up 9.3 percent in value year-on-year.

Vice chairman of the VFA, Do Ha Nam described 2020 as a successful year for Vietnam’s rice exports, which he attributed to increasing demand in many countries and the improved competitiveness of Vietnamese rice around the world.

Amid the difficulties posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rice exporters quickly made appropriate adjustments and actively sought new markets while fully tapping into the advantages brought about by FTAs.

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