HCMC – Vietnam emerged as Singapore’s largest rice exporter in the first quarter of this year, overtaking both India and Thailand.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, rice exports from Vietnam to Singapore during this period soared to 36.15 million SGD, up by 80.46% over the same period in 2023.
While exports of traditional rice varieties, including brown and white rice, declined, there was significant growth in glutinous rice (up by 221.76%), milled or polished fragrant rice (up by 291.17%), and broken rice (up by 111.4%).
Glutinous and fragrant rice varieties have gained significant traction, commanding a large share of the rice market in Singapore, reaching 80.08% and 73.33%, respectively. These factors propelled Vietnam ahead of Thailand and India to become the leading rice exporter to Singapore.
Despite stiff competition from Thailand, India, and Japan in the Singaporean rice market, Vietnamese enterprises have tactfully leveraged India’s ban on non-basmati rice exports since July 2023, to increase market share and export value to Singapore.
However, Vietnam’s rice exporters, with their historically weak capabilities and limited investment in branding and product promotion, struggle to gain acceptance for Vietnamese brands in Singapore. Singaporean importers tend to prefer raw rice, repackaged under local brands for easier market penetration, rather than Vietnamese brands.
Statistics from Singapore’s Enterprise Management Agency showed that total rice imports to Singapore rose by 23.86% in the first three months of 2024, amounting to nearly 112.9 million SGD, with a volume of around 110,640 tons, up 6.15% from the same period in 2023.
