With the new EVFTA, more and more Vietnamese rice is being shipped to the EU. Scented rice in particular is being sold at high prices.

Nine Vietnamese fragrant rice varieties will enjoy tariff export quotas to Europe under the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) agreement.

While exports of many products have plunged because of Covid-19, rice exports are growing, with prices of some products reaching an 8-year high.

Because of unprecedented difficulties, Thailand may be outstripped by Vietnam in rice exports this year, but this may only be for the short term.

Since May this year, Vietnam’s rice export activities have returned to normal, with the month recording the highest rice export price seen in recent years and paving the way for the country to outpace Thailand in global rice exports in 2020.

After a year letting the private sector import rice on a “tax-based mechanism” instead of a quota-based mechanism in line with the G2G regime, the Philippine side is considering a comeback to the previous regime to import 300,000 tons of rice. 

Previously, China imported rice in small quantities from Vietnam, but the country has recently increased imports from Vietnam and accepted higher prices.

As a market economy, Vietnam has to open its markets to foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) but the opening may lend a hand to FIEs to control the home market.

Confronted with food security risks as Covid-19 spreads, the Prime Minister decided on March 25, 2020 to suspend rice export and then regulate it using quotas. 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed the prime minister end the directive on rice export quota management that had earlier been issued to allow for normal rice exports from May 1.

The Vietnamese government has decided to resume rice exports, but the debate continues about whether the country should continue to do so.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday requested the Government Inspectorate inspect rice exports in recent times.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on April 20 ordered advancing the export quota of 100,000 tonnes of rice from that set for May in order to ease difficulties for firms that have rice stuck at ports but are unable to submit customs declarations.

The Vietnam Food Association has petitioned authorities to prioritise customs clearance of consignments of rice exports stuck at ports.

Many rice exporters were left surprised because the export quota of 400,000 tonnes of rice in April ended quickly in just three hours.

The total amount of rice that Vietnamese exporters have to deliver to partners under contracts from now to the end of May is 1.385 million tons.

In order to export $42 billion worth of products as planned, exports to China need to grow by 10 percent and to ASEAN by 9 percent to offset the decline in exports to the US and EU.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the resumption of rice export provided that food security must be guaranteed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, drought and saltwater intrusion.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has suggested suspending exports of low-grade rice until June 15 to ensure purchase for the national reserves.

After Vietnam halted rice exports, Thailand pushed its export prices up, but now Vietnamese exporters are preparing to return to the world market.