Vietnam is set to make a groundbreaking entry into the 'low-emission' rice market in Japan, with its first export shipment in June.

Vietnam aims to improve the quality and value of export rice by reducing the proportion of low and medium-grade white rice while increasing the share of aromatic, Japonica, and specialty rice varieties.

Takashi Takanashi, head of the Spice House Co., a company based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, specialising in wholesale imported food for restaurants and retailers, said his company is receiving increasing requests for Vietnamese rice, he said.

The Vietnamese rice sector is likely to face a host of challenges in export in 2025 after a successful year in 2024, according to experts.

After a record year in 2024 export volume and value, Vietnam’s rice sector is moving into a new year of challenges and opportunities, with significant swings expected in both supply and demand for rice on the world stage.

Vietnam’s agricultural product exports are on track to achieve an unprecedented milestone, with projected revenue reaching 60-61 billion USD this year, up 7-8 billion USD compared to 2023.

Despite challenges in the global rice market, Vietnam's is still on a right track to a new export volume record of over 8 million tonnes in 2024, surpassing last year’s result, according to insiders.

With the current rising trend, trade between Vietnam and the Philippines is likely to exceed 8 billion USD for the first time to hit about 8.5 billion USD in 2024, with Vietnam’s surplus of more than 3 billion USD, according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in the Philippines.

No Vietnamese rice is named in the list of the grain seized by Swedish authorities on suspicion of quality fraud, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in the European country.

In the first half of 2024, Canada imported over 207 million USD worth of rice, up 5% from the same period in 2023. Among the top five rice-exporting countries to Canada, Vietnam achieved impressive growth of nearly 55%, reaching an export value of approximately 6.5 million USD.

The Mekong Delta region’s cultivation sector has maintained good growth with increased production of major products, ensuring supply for domestic market and export, heard a conference held in Long An province on August 20 to review the region’s cultivation activities in 2024 and launch a plan for 2025.

The success of the rice sector is the fruit of a concerted effort spanning research, production and trade, with high-quality seeds delivered to farmers' hands, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has assessed.

The reduction of the rice import tax by the Philippines will create more advantages and increase opportunities for Vietnamese rice to enter the market later this year, insiders said.

The rice trade between Vietnam and the Philippines is forecast to remain steady in the near future, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines.

Vietnam achieved significant milestones in exports to Singapore in the first quarter of 2024, particularly in the rice and seafood sectors.

Despite positive results in rice export so far, experts held that domestic firms should carefully evaluate the demand of major export markets to design suitable strategy for the rest of the year.

The prices of Vietnamese rice in the international market rose by 3-8 USD per tonne last week, helping Vietnam return to the top position in export rice prices, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

Vietnam's national project to develop one million hectares of specialized farming areas is the world's first initiative to integrate rice production with environmental protection and climate change adaptation.

ietnam in the first quarter of 2024 exported 2.18 million tonnes of rice, earning 1.43 billion USD, an increase of 17.6% in volume and 45.5% in value year on year. Meanwhile, the average export rice price also increased by 23.6% to $653.9 per tonne.

As of the end of March, Vietnam is projected to have exported approximately 1.6 million tons of rice this year, generating over 1 billion USD in revenue, for a 50% increase year-on-year. The result signifies Vietnam’s highest rice exports for 34 years, offering a positive outlook for 2024 as a whole.