Vietnam continued to be the biggest rice provider to the Philippines in the first five months of this year with a turnover of $772.4 million, surging 31.1% year-on-year.

During January-May, the Philippines imported 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam, accounting for nearly 90% of its total imported rice, according to the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, citing data from the Philippine Bureau of Statistics.

This was also the record level of Vietnam’s rice exports to the Philippines so far.

In the first five months, Vietnam exported 3.6 million tons of rice, with the Philippines accounting for 42.3% of the share.

In the last six months of the year, rice exports to the Philippines are forecast to continue to increase due to the impact of climate change and the El Nino phenomenon that could severely affect domestic food production in the country of 113 million people.

To take advantage of the opportunity to export rice to this market, businesses should closely follow market developments and policies on rice trade, the Asia-Africa Market Department said.

Market research firm Fitch Solutions forecast that the global rice market will face the most severe shortage for 20 years in 2023. A shortfall of about 8.7 million tons is expected in the 2022-2023 crop year, the highest level since 2003-2004.

Vietnamese agricultural experts said that rice prices will stay good in the short term due to global economic, and political uncertainties pushing up demand for food reserves.

In addition to the Philippines, Indonesia and many countries in Asia are also increasing purchases of Vietnamese rice due to a decrease in supply.

VnExpress