Farmers walking within the rice fields in Mu Cang Chai, YenBai, Vietnam
Wiratgas | moment | Getty’s paintings
Vietnam goals to limit rice exports to 4 million tons per 12 months by 2030.
Vietnam is the world’s third largest exporter of rice, after India and Thailand. According to a May 26 government document reviewed by Reuters, the move goals to “increase high-quality rice exports, ensure national food security, protect the environment and adapt to climate change.”
Rice export revenues will fall to $2.62 billion a 12 months by 2030, down from $3.45 billion in 2022, the document says.
“Although Vietnam’s rice-growing area is shrinking due to climate change and a few farmers are switching to other crops and shrimp farming, the strategy appears to be too aggressive,” a rice trader in Ho Chi Minh City said on Saturday.
A trader said some rice farmers within the Mekong Delta are turning a part of their fields into orchard farms, growing mangoes, grapefruit, jackfruit and durian, however the overwhelming majority remain depending on rice.
The trend towards shrimp farming has been occurring in the realm for years as climate change-induced rise in seawater levels causes greatly increased salinity within the Mekong Delta region.
Vietnam will diversify its rice export markets to reduce its dependence on any country, a government document says. The Philippines has long been Vietnam’s largest rice buyer, accounting for 45% of its shipments last 12 months.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at a regional meeting in Indonesia this month that Vietnam is willing to supply rice to the Philippines in the long run at reasonable prices.
By 2025, 60% of Vietnamese rice exports will be shipped to Asian markets, 22% to Africa, 7% to the US, 4% to the Middle East and three% to Europe, the document says.
The Vietnam Food Association, which represents rice processors and exporters, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The federal government said that Vietnam will give attention to the production of high-quality, fragrant and glutinous rice, while limiting the production of low-grade grains to 15% of total production by 2025 and to 10% by 2030. “I doubt the strategy will materialize, as production rice depends upon supply and demand, not government decisions,” said one other rice trader in An Giang Province within the Mekong Delta.
Rice exports from Vietnam in the primary 4 months of this 12 months rose 40.7% from the previous 12 months to 2.9 million tons, according to government customs data.