Vietnam is witnessing a clear shift in rice exports as high-quality products and low-emission rice are increasingly popular in major markets. Not only increasing turnover, the trend of “greening” this industry also opens up opportunities to elevate the Vietnamese rice brand on the world map, in the context of increasingly strict global consumer demand for quality and environmental standards.
Rice exports to China increased sharply
Vietnam is witnessing positive signals in exporting high-quality rice. Notably, the Japanese market - famous for its strict requirements - has also received the first batch of low-emission rice from Vietnam with a volume of 500 tons.
This shipment has an export price of up to 850 USD/ton according to FOB price (at Ho Chi Minh City border gate), and can reach more than 1.000 USD/ton according to CIF price (at the import port of Japan). This is clear evidence that Vietnamese rice is increasingly meeting high quality and environmental standards, in line with global consumption trends.
In addition, large markets such as China have made a strong comeback. In the first 4 months of the year, China imported nearly 362.000 tons of rice from Vietnam, an increase of 114% over the same period in 2024. Notably, this market no longer prioritizes cheap rice as before but has shifted to high-quality products such as ST25 rice, fragrant rice and sticky rice. The change in consumer tastes from China is opening up great potential to increase rice export turnover for Vietnam in the coming time.
Vietnam's rice industry is currently promoting high-quality product lines.
According to Mr. Do Ha Nam - Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), the demand for high-quality rice in the world is increasing. However, Vietnam has not yet met the output for export. Therefore, the current focus of rice industry development is to promote high-quality product lines, especially low-emission rice. This direction is not only in line with international consumption trends but also contributes to affirming Vietnam's commitment to realizing the goal of net zero emissions by 0.
Green manufacturing
In fact, ST25 rice - one of Vietnam's most prominent specialty rice varieties - currently has an export price of up to 1.200 USD/ton, many times higher than regular white rice and far surpassing many other fragrant rice varieties on the international market. The increase in the proportion of high-quality rice varieties not only increases export turnover but also helps Vietnamese businesses gain an advantage in trade negotiations, contributing to enhancing the image of Vietnamese rice brands.
Notably, the Project “Sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice” being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in the Mekong Delta has begun to yield concrete results. To date, 7 enterprises have been granted the right to use the “Green Vietnamese Rice with Low Emissions” label, with a total output of 19.200 tons.
It is expected that in October, Vietnam will continue to export an additional 10 tons of ST3.000 rice certified as low-emission to the Australian market - one of the countries with high requirements for quality and environment. If this deal is successful, it will be an important stepping stone to boost confidence in the "greening" strategy of the rice industry.
Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy affirmed: “We are facing a great opportunity to reshape the Vietnamese rice industry in a modern, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible direction; affirming the position and brand of Vietnamese rice in the international market.”
According to VFA, the structure of Vietnam's rice export varieties is changing in a positive direction, with the proportion of fragrant rice, Japonica, specialty rice and internationally certified rice increasing. Rice varieties such as Dai Thom 8, OM18, ST24, ST25 are prioritized for expanding acreage to serve high-end markets such as the EU, Japan, the US, the Middle East and Africa.
By 2030, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment aims to reduce the proportion of low- and medium-grade white rice to below 10%, while fragrant rice, Japonica rice and specialty rice will account for about 45% of total exports. This is an important step, reflecting the effort to reposition Vietnamese rice products in the global value chain, aiming at the high-end, sustainable and environmentally friendly segment.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/viet-nam-dung-truoc-co-hoi-lon-dinh-hinh-lai-nganh-lua-gao-post1750599.tpo