According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia, the Indonesian Government has decided to increase the rice import quota in 2024 by 1.6 million tons.
The shortage of domestic rice production stems from the delayed main crop in the year due to the lack of water. This was affected by the El Nino phenomenon in 2023. It is expected that the harvest of this crop will take place in May and June 2024, instead of March and April every year. Thus, with an additional 1.6 million tons of imported rice, the total amount of rice quota decided by the Government to be imported in 2024 will be 3.6 million tons.
So far, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade has issued a rice import license for two million tons. An additional import permit of 1.6 million tons will be issued soon after completing some related administrative procedures.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia said in recent days, the rice prices in the Indonesian market are increasing sharply due to a serious shortage of supply. As of February 2024, Indonesia had experienced 08 consecutive months of rice deficit due to a shortfall in domestic production compared to demand. The phenomenon of rice scarcity in supermarkets has appeared. Indonesia’s Trade Minister has asked people to switch to buying price-stabilized rice from the Government to avoid rice prices rising too high in the free market.
In 2023, Indonesia became the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s rice.
The retail price of rice in the market was up to 80,000 Rp (equivalent to 5.17 USD)/5kg compared to the Government’s ceiling price of only 69,500 Rp (4.45 USD)/5kg.
According to the Indonesian Statistics Agency, in January 2024, this country imported 441.93 thousand tons, worth 279.2 million USD, an increase of 82.19% compared to January 2023. The amount of rice imported from Thailand was 237.64 thousand tons, from Pakistan 129.78 thousand tons, Myanmar 41.61 thousand tons, Vietnam 32.34 thousand tons, and Cambodia 2.5 thousand tons.
In 2023, Indonesia became the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s rice with an output of more than 1.1 million tons, worth more than 640 million USD. This was a sharp increase of 878% in volume and 992% in value compared to 2022.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia said that with the serious rice shortage, in the context that the main harvest has not yet started and the Ramadan month of the Muslim will begin in mid-March 2024 and last for one month, the demand for food shall continue to increase sharply.
It is forecast that the Indonesian Government will continue to buy more rice, in addition to the bid opening of 500,000 tons of rice on January 17, 2024 (in which, Vietnamese exporters have won bids to supply more than 300,000 tons).
Therefore, the Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia recommends that Vietnamese rice exporters closely update market information and take advantage of opportunities to export rice in the first months of the year to this market.
According to the General Department of Customs, in 2023, Vietnam’s rice exports reached 8.1 million tons, equivalent to 4.7 billion USD, up 14% in volume and 35% in value compared to 2022.
Vietnam’s rice industry has set an export record in both volume and turnover after 34 years of participating in the global market. The average export price of rice in 2023 reached 580 USD/ton, an increase of 19% compared to 2022. In particular, Indonesia is the market with the strongest growth./.