Rice exports face pressure from price fluctuations and supply competition. To maintain growth momentum, the rice industry needs to improve quality, strengthen raw material areas, expand markets, and build brands.

Hà Nội Mới

Rising price pressures mean exports need more room to grow.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , in the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam exported approximately 6.4 million tons of rice, earning $3.11 billion, a decrease of 6.1% in volume and 10.9% in value compared to the same period in 2025. The average export price reached approximately $484.8 per ton, a decrease of 5.1%.

In fact, export rice prices have seen periods of improvement. In July 2026, the average export price of Vietnamese rice reached approximately US$511 per ton, a 5.8% increase compared to the same period the previous year and the first month of the year to record an annual increase.

By mid-September 2026, Vietnamese rice prices were recorded at around $440-445 per ton, while Indian and Thai rice prices tended to rise amid concerns about weather and supply.

According to the target set for 2026, the rice industry aims to export approximately 7.7 million tons. With 6.4 million tons exported after nine months, Vietnam needs to export an additional 1.3 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2024 to achieve the target. This task requires proactive measures in sourcing supplies, regulating delivery schedules, and exploiting demand in markets with remaining potential.

Domestic supply remains the basis for maintaining export activities. As of September 20, 2026, the whole country had harvested 1,819.5 thousand hectares of summer-autumn rice, equivalent to 97.7% of the planted area, a decrease of 7.4 thousand hectares compared to the same period in 2025. According to reports from localities, the estimated yield of summer-autumn rice is 58.9 quintals/hectare, an increase of 1.5 quintals/hectare; the estimated production is nearly 11 million tons, an increase of 71.2 thousand tons compared to the summer-autumn crop of 2025.

This result provides a stronger foundation for supply, but to translate production advantages into export efficiency, the rice industry needs to organize procurement, storage, processing, and consumption effectively. Without strong linkages between rice farmers, cooperatives, and businesses, while supply may be abundant, it will still be difficult to ensure consistent quality, specifications, and timely delivery.

Improving quality and building brand from the source of raw materials.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Vice President of the Vietnam Rice Industry Association (VIETRISA), believes that the prospect of improving rice quality should be linked to the reorganization of production and the development of raw material areas. The project to sustainably develop one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta is one of the foundations expected to support this transformation. When production is linked to quality requirements, cultivation processes, and consumption linkages, the raw material areas can create more favorable conditions for controlling inputs, improving product consistency, and meeting the requirements of importing markets.

By August 2026, the area applying all or part of the sustainable rice production process of the project will reach approximately 420,800 hectares. This result shows that the scope of implementation is expanding, but to create a significant change in export value, it is necessary to continue linking the cultivation process with procurement, processing, and consumption. Rice farmers will only have the motivation to maintain high-quality production processes when there is a stable market and economic benefits commensurate with the costs incurred.

Along with developing raw material areas, building a national rice brand is a task that needs to be implemented on the basis of verifiable quality. One proposed direction is to research a pilot model for developing a rice brand in the Mekong Delta region with ST24 and ST25 varieties. At the same time, it is necessary to build raw material areas that meet export standards to the European Union (EU) and Japan through a cooperative model linked with businesses, under the management and supervision of the State.

In the long term, a rice brand cannot be built solely on advertising; it must be strengthened by consistent quality, transparent origin, and reliable supply capabilities. If the actual product does not meet the commitments, the brand value is difficult to maintain. Conversely, when quality is controlled throughout the entire process from production to processing, packaging, and distribution, businesses have a stronger basis for negotiating with partners, gradually expanding their market, and increasing the value of their products.

Diversifying markets is also a necessary solution to reduce dependence on a few large customers. The Vietnam Food Association recommends continuing negotiations on rice protocols with importing markets; promoting technical negotiations linked to the value chain and the requirements of potential, high-value markets. The Association also proposes promoting government- level contracts with key importing markets to create stable outlets for businesses.

According to Mr. Tran Son Ha, General Director of the Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood 1), for Vietnamese rice to reach a wider market, all parties need to put an end to the “everyone for themselves” approach and use cooperation and credibility as the foundation for development.

The linkage must begin even before planting, with agreement between businesses, cooperatives, and farmers on rice varieties, production processes, quality standards, and purchasing methods. Businesses need to proactively share market information, helping producers understand the needs, types of rice, and quality requirements of partners. This will allow them to organize production according to orders and actual demand, instead of just focusing on production and then looking for outlets.

Furthermore, the purchase price must be transparent and commensurate with the quality of the product. When the market is favorable, the added value should be distributed fairly; when the market is difficult, all parties need to share the risks, avoiding shifting losses to partners. This is the basis for strengthening trust, maintaining long-term linkages, and improving the efficiency of the entire rice value chain.

With exports estimated at around 6.4 million tons in the first nine months of 2026, the target of 7.7 million tons for the whole year still places considerable pressure on the fourth quarter of 2026. However, the long-term requirements of the rice industry do not stop at simply bringing more goods to the international market.

Strengthening raw material areas, improving quality, meeting standards, diversifying markets, and building new brands are solutions that help Vietnamese rice reduce its dependence on price competition, increase revenue, and improve export efficiency sustainably.

Source: Hà Nội Mới

Published Date: October 15, 2026