Global rice demand will reach 500 million tons in the next 10 years, while free trade agreements will help Vietnam open many markets.
The above comment was shared by many opinions at the seminar on rice industry restructuring project held in Hanoi on August 25. According to Deputy Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (Ipsard) - Dr. Tran Cong Thang, Asia will account for about two-thirds of the world's total demand for rice by 2030, especially the demand for rice. with high quality rice.
Meanwhile, many importing countries are unable to boost production due to limited natural conditions and resources. Therefore, the demand for rice imports continues to increase at an average rate of 1.5% per year.
In addition, opportunities for export rice are expanded when Vietnam joins more and more free trade agreements and customs unions. Along with that, the investment of enterprises, complete infrastructure, the development of science and technology in varieties, cultivation techniques, preservation, processing ... are factors to promote the development of the industry. rice production.
Regarding exports, according to expert Ipsard, Vietnam and Thailand will account for more than 47% of world rice exports in the next few years, contributing 87% to the growth of this product's exports globally. In addition to Thailand, Vietnam's competitors will include India, Pakistan, the US... Myanmar also has the prospect of becoming a major rice exporter in Asia, but its ability to compete with Vietnam is unclear.
According to the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture), from the beginning of the year until now, rice exports have faced many difficulties and this situation is not expected to change much in the next 1-2 years. In addition to the land issue, the rice industry is facing many other challenges such as: changing consumption demand, competitive pressure from other exporting countries, self-sufficiency policy to reduce imports of partners, fluctuations rice prices. However, considering the medium and long term, the agency said that Vietnam still has many opportunities to export rice.
Therefore, the Project on Restructuring Vietnam's rice industry is being consulted by the management agency with relevant units, including some solutions for each production area. Accordingly, the Mekong Delta focuses on high quality varieties for export. The Red River Delta and commodity rice production areas, the rest is focused on the domestic market.
Trinh Nguyen
