The figures represented a year-on-year decline of 10.8% in volume and 27.6% in value, clearly reflecting the impact of the global downturn in rice prices over the past year.

The country’s 5% broken rice was quoted in recent days at between US$360 and US$365 per tonne. A trader in Ho Chi Minh City said trading activity has slowed amid weak overseas demand, forecasting that demand is likely to remain subdued as the Philippines and Indonesia may curb purchases, while supplies from India are expected to rise sharply.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, as of December 31, the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s largest granary, had planted 921,000 hectares of the 2025–2026 Winter–Spring rice crop, equivalent to 73.8% of the total planned area of 1.266 million hectares. Some early-sown areas have already begun to be harvested.

Vietnam exports 7 million tonnes of rice, earning nearly US$3.59 billion

Vietnam had exported more than 7 million tonnes of rice as of October 15, but domestic paddy and rice prices have fallen amid slower purchases by exporters, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).