Viet Nam remains biggest rice supplier for Philippines
VGP - Viet Nam sold about 1.5 million tons of rice to the Philippines in the first five months of this year, remaining as the largest supplier of the staple for its Southeast Asian peer, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The above volume accounted for 89.6 percent of total rice imported by the Philippines and 42.3 percent of Viet Nam's total rice exports during the reviewed period.
Though Viet Nam's exports declined across various products, rice is still a significant hard currency earner that helps maintain positive export growth for Viet Nam.
In the first half of the year, Viet Nam maintained substantial growth in rice exports, selling 4.27 million tons for US$2.3 billion. This represented a 22.2 percent increase in volume and a 34.7 percent surge in value compared to the same period last year.
The country will work to diversify its rice export markets as stated in the Strategy on Development of Viet Nam's Rice Export Markets until 2030.
The strategy sets a target of exporting about 4 million tons of rice for a turnover of about US$ 2.62 billion by 2030./.