Vietnam to cut annual rice exports by 44% to 4 million tons by 2030

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HANOI — Vietnam aims to cut rice exports to 4 million tons a year by 2030, the government said in a document detailing its rice export strategy, down from 7.1 million tons last year.

Vietnam is the world’s third largest rice exporter, after India and Thailand.

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The move is intended to “promote the export of high-quality rice, ensure domestic food security, protect the environment, and adapt to climate change,” according to a government document, dated May 26 and approved by the government. Reuters review.

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Rice export revenue will fall to $2.62 billion a year in 2030, down from $3.45 billion in 2022, the document said.

“Although Vietnam’s rice acreage is shrinking due to climate change and some farmers are turning to other crops and shrimp farming, this strategy seems too aggressive,” a trader said. rice workers in Ho Chi Minh City said on Saturday.

The trader said some rice farmers in the Mekong Delta are shifting part of their fields to fruit farms, growing mangoes, pomelos, jackfruits and durians, but the vast majority are still dependent on rice. rice.

The

shrimp farming trend

has been going on in the region for many years as rising sea levels due to climate change significantly increase salinity in the Mekong Delta region.

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The government document says Vietnam will diversify its rice export market to reduce its dependence on any one country. The Philippines has long been Vietnam’s biggest rice buyer, accounting for 45% of rice exports last year.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at a regional meeting in Indonesia this month that

Vietnam is ready to supply rice

long-term to the Philippines at a reasonable price.

By 2025, 60% of Vietnam’s rice exports will be exported to Asia, 22% to Africa, 7% to the United States, 4% to the Middle East and 3% to Europe.

The Vietnam Food Association, which represents rice processors and exporters, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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The government said Vietnam will focus on producing high-quality glutinous rice and fragrant rice, while reducing the output of low-quality grains to 15 percent of total production by 2025 and 10 percent by 2030.

“I doubt this strategy will come to fruition, as rice production depends on supply and demand, not on government decisions,” said another rice trader in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. said.

Vietnam’s rice exports in the first four months of this year rose 40.7% from a year earlier to 2.9 million tonnes, according to government customs data.

(Reported by Kinh Vu; edited by Tom Hogue, Kim Coghill and Gerry Doyle)