Cambodia’s drought is expected to contribute to a drop in Vietnam’s rice supply, hampering its ability to export more of this staple to the Philippines. Picture: Reuters
Market research data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that the Philippines imported a total of 3.7 million tons of rice in 2022, mostly from Vietnam (the rest came from Thailand). This makes the Southeast Asian country the second largest rice importer in the world.
According to USDA projections, that number is likely to remain about the same in 2023 as the Philippines grapples with inflation and a food shortage crisis as it can only produce about 12.4 million tons, which is below the 15.8 million tons required.
Mr. Chookiat Ophaswong, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the Philippines plans to buy more rice from Thailand as Vietnam faces capacity constraints. This is because the agricultural area used for rice cultivation in Vietnam’s crop year 2022-2023 decreased by 3% compared to the previous crop year. On the other hand, Vietnam is expected to export about 6 million tons of rice in 2023, compared to 7.1 million tons in 2022.
In contrast, Thailand is expected to produce around 20.2 million tons of rice for this crop year, up from 19 million tons in the previous crop year.