Vietnamese rice imported into the EU reaches on average US$781 per tonne

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's rice exports to the EU market in the first 11 months of 2021 reached 53,910 tonnes, worth $38.07 million, an increase of 0.8 per cent in volume but about 21.6 per cent in value when compared with those of the same period in 2020.

The value of rice exports to the EU increased sharply because of  a very strong increase in the price of rice exported to the EU compared to the first 11 months of 2020. Specifically, fragrant rice price increased by 17.5 per cent, reaching an average of $665 USD per tonne; white rice by 41.8 per cent; Japanese rice varieties increased by 7.5 per cent; brown rice, organic rice, dragon blood rice increased by 38.5 per cent.

According to the European Statistics Agency (Eurostat), EU rice imports in the first nine months of 2021 fell by 10.9 per cent in volume and 9.3 per cent in value over the same period last year, to 2. 63 million tons, worth $2.1 billion.

Among the ten largest rice suppliers for EU, rice from Vietnam saw the strongest price growth, 20.3 per cent, to an average of US$781 per tonne.

Therefore, although Vietnam's rice exports to the EU decreased in nine months, the export turnover still increased by 13.2 per cent, reaching $34.03 million.

Fragrant rice is the main export species to the EU. In the first 11 months of 2021, the amount of fragrant rice Vietnam exported to the EU reached 37,390 tonnes, worth $26.82 million, up 9.3 per cent in volume and 28.4 per cent in value over the same period in 2020.

In particular, some specialty rice varieties of Vietnam such as ST24, ST25 were first exported to markets in the EU.

The share of fragrant rice in Vietnam's total rice exports to the EU has also increased to 70 per cent in the first 11 months of 2021 from 64 per cent in the same period of 2020.

The Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade forecasts that in 2022, Vietnam's rice exports to the EU will still increase significantly. In particular, the quality of Vietnamese rice has been improved, mainly aromatic rice varieties, meeting the tastes of European consumers.

Enterprises with large raw material areas and standardised cultivation such as Loc Troi, Tan Long, Trung An can take advantage of the EVFTA to export fragrant rice with zero per cent tax.