Vietnam has surpassed Thailand to become the world’s second largest rice exporter, now only behind India who is the largest rice exporter in the world. To maintain this position, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hailed the efforts and stressed on swiftly addressing the obstacles and seize more export opportunities.
Boosting Rice Exports
The government in its official dispatch No. 7697/VPCP-NN, conveyed Prime Minister’s directive on Vietnam’s rice export strategy. As per the government by the govt. office, the Thai Rice Exporter’s Association recently reported that Vietnam had overtaken Thailand to rank second globally in rice exports during the first half of this year. Notably, this achievement signals a growing shift from exporting in high-volumes to exporting high-value rice, enhancing Vietnam’s competitive edge.
However, as per the clear instructions by the PM Vietnamese rice sector need to resolve persistent challenges, particularly policy and regulatory bottlenecks, as well as technical barriers from high-standard markets such as the EU and Japan to enjoy the tag of the world’s second largest exporter of rice.
Weakening global demand and intensified price competition from rival exporters, will no doubt erode the current pricing advantage of Vietnam. This necessitates a long-term strategy focused on shifting from quantity to quality, emphasizing high-grade, organic rice and building a national rice brand.