A conference was held in Hong Kong (China) on April 19 to tighten relations between rice businesses from Vietnam and Hong Kong as well as promote Vietnamese high-quality rice in the market.

Speaking at the event, Tran Quoc Toan, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that for many consecutive years, Vietnam has always been in the top 10 largest trading partners of Hong Kong. The total import-export turnover between the two sides in 2022 neared 10.9 billion USD, down 6% compared to 2021. In the first three months of 2023, the trade turnover reached 2.5 billion USD, down 28% over the same period last year.

As for rice, by the end of March 2023, Vietnam exported more than 16,000 tonnes to Honh Kong, approximately the same period last year.

Vietnam is one of the top three suppliers of the food in the world, together with India and Thailand. Vietnamese rice has been present in more than 150 countries and territories around the world with diverse varieties and qualities that meet the requirements of the most demanding markets such as the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore.

Ta Thu Thuy, a representative from Vietnam Food Association, said that Hong Kong is one of the traditional niche markets of Vietnamese specialty rice with modest consumption volume but stable purchasing power over the years.

In recent years, the world economy has recorded mixed fluctuations, but the rice trade between Vietnam and Hong Kong is still going quite smoothly, she said, expecting favourable conditions will be created for rice importers and exporters of the two sides.

Chairman of the Rice Merchants’ Association of Hong Kong Kenneth Chan said Vietnam is one of the major exporters of the grain in the world and the second largest rice exporter to Hong Kong.

In the 2008-2013 period, Vietnam’s rice market share in Hong Kong increased from 0.5% to 42%, which shows the competitiveness and adaptability of Vietnamese rice.

Currently, about 24% of rice imported to Hong Kong is from Vietnam, he said, hoping that the cooperation between the two rice associations will be maintained and further developed.

VNA