Opportunity for Vietnam as Indonesia to import 1.6M tons more rice

The import licenses for the additional quota would be issued soon by its Ministry of Trade once legal procedures are completed, it said.

It will increase the country’s rice imports to 3.6 million tons this year.

Vietnamese exporters could capitalize on this opportunity, but would have to compete on price with many other countries, according to the head of a government agency in Dong Thap Province, one of the largest rice producers in the Mekong Delta.

According to the official, Vietnam has advantages in terms of delivery times and quality, but its prices are high.

"If businesses offer competitive prices, the chances of winning bids will be better."

The trade office advised businesses to push exports in the early months of the year since Indonesia’s main rice harvest has been delayed by two to three months due to a water shortage caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

Indonesia imported 441,930 tons of rice in January, an 82% increase year-on-year, including 32,340 tons from Vietnam.

Thailand accounted for 129,780 tons.

Last month seven Vietnamese companies won a bid to export 300,000 tons of rice to Indonesia.

Last year Indonesia was the second largest importer of Vietnamese rice, buying over 1.1 million tons or nearly nine times the volume it had imported in 2022.