Vietnam’s imported rice surges

HANOI, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — As Vietnam’s domestic rice supply has reached its limit, Vietnamese businesses have had to find supplies from neighboring countries, Vietnam News reported Thursday.
The newspaper cited business insiders as saying that as farmers switched to cultivating high-quality rice varieties for export, Vietnam’s imported rice was poised to surge.
Imported rice plays a significant role in the domestic market, meeting the demand for a more cost-effective option without causing too much impact on domestic rice production, and also helping stabilize Vietnamese rice’s export value, said the experts.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Department of Customs, Vietnam spent nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars on rice imports in the first nine months of this year, a 57.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year, surpassing the total import value for all of 2023.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Vietnam had become a major rice importer, ranking third after Indonesia and the Philippines.
Representatives from the ministry and the Vietnam Food Association said surging demand for imported rice did not mean the country’s food security is at risk.
They insisted it is business as usual, even logical to source more affordable rice from foreign producers. In addition, higher demand for broken rice, typically used in animal feed, was a sign of strong economic recovery. ■