Philippines remains Vietnam’s biggest rice importer

Vietnam views the Philippines as one of its most important rice importers, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has told visiting Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr..

Currently, the Philippines is Vietnam’s sixth biggest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 16th in the world. It remains Vietnam’s biggest rice buyer. Last year, two-way trade reached 7.8 billion USD, down only 0.1%.

Dien stressed the significance of Laurel’s visit to bilateral trade, especially the rice trade, and affirmed that the two countries are important trade partners of each other in Southeast Asia.

Within the framework of the state visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on January 29 and 30, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Philippine Department of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice trade.

The deal set out major cooperation orientations and activities to boost collaboration in rice trade in the next five years. It demonstrates the friendship and good cooperation between the two countries, and is expected to benefit both economies.

Dien suggested the two sides build a plan to materialise the MoU after it takes effect, urged Laurel to instruct concerned agencies to closely coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to implement procedures on food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and soon open doors for each other's fruits and meat products.

The two sides should optimise the existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the Vietnam - Philippines joint trade subcommittee, he added.

Laurel, for his part, shared Dien’s view on the two countries’ potential for agricultural product trade, noting Vietnamese rice accounts for 85% of imported rice in the Philippines.

He suggested Vietnam shared its forecast for rice production this year, and suggested the country maintain its stable rice supply to the Philippines.

Dien affirmed that Vietnam stands ready to supply rice to the Philippines in a stable and long-term manner.