Farmers harvest spring-winter rice crop (Photo:VNA)
Rice is not only the key staple food in Vietnam but also provides livelihood for millions of farmers, mostly in the Mekong and the Red River deltas in the south and the north of the country.
From a rice importer over three decades ago, Vietnam has risen to the world’s top exporter. In 2020, Vietnam exported US$3.07 billion worth of the grain, making it the second largest rice producer in the world, only after India.
In the first 11 months of last year, the country shipped abroad 5.75 million tons of the food for $3.03 billion, up 0.8 percent and 7.2 percent year on year, respectively.
Vietnamese rice is now available in about 80 countries and territories, with the Asian market accounting for the largest share, followed by Africa. Its biggest buyers include the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Iraq, Indonesia, Hong Kong (China), and Senegal.
Vietnam’s ST 25 rice won the first place at the World’s Best Rice competition in 2019 and the second in 2020.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is restructuring the sector to boost productivity and foster sustainable development in a plan until 2025, with a vision towards 2030.
By 2025, Vietnam sets to have 3.6 – 3.7 million hectares of land under rice which will generate 40 – 41 million tons of paddy annually. The country also targets to export around 5 million tons of rice in the next five years.
