After India, the world’s largest rice exporter, removed most restrictions on rice exports in late October, prices in the global market saw a sharp drop.

Rice sold at a store in the Mekong Delta, November 2024.

Prices of 5% broken rice from Pakistan and Thailand fell 5-10% to US$457-490 per ton, according to data from the Vietnam Food Association.

Vietnamese rice similarly dipped to nearly $500 per ton, but bounced back to $522 on Thursday.

The rebound in prices was driven by tightening supply as the harvest season approached its end.

A business in Dong Thap, a major rice-producing province in the Mekong Delta, said it used to purchase 1,000-1,500 tons of rice daily last month, but has only managed to secure about 300-500 tons recently.

Farmers in the country have also been transitioning to rice varieties that yield higher quality and can better compete with other countries’ products.

In the first ten months of the year, Vietnam exported nearly 7.8 million tons of rice for $4.9 billion, up more than 23% from a year ago, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The average price was $626.2 per ton, a 12% year-on-year increase.

The Philippines was the largest buyer of Vietnamese rice, accounting for over 45% of exports, followed by Indonesia (14.4%) and Malaysia (8.5%).

Vietnam also spent $1.2 billion importing 3.2 million tons of rice during the period, a 73% increase from a year earlier.

This makes it the third-largest rice importer globally behind the Philippines and Indonesia.

The Department of Crop Production forecasts that Vietnam will produce around 43 million tons of rice this year, enough to export 8 million tons while still meeting domestic demand.

Rice exports are expected to reach a record-high of $5 billion this year.

As a result, Vietnam’s rice supply primarily consists of fragrant varieties in the mid-range and premium segments.

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