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PROJECT “NETWORK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
THINK-TAKS FOR COUNTRIES IN MEKONG-SUB REGION” (NARDT)

II. The overview of regional rice sector

1. The overview of the rice production in Lao PDR, Viet Nam and Cambodia in
recent 5 years

Rice is an important and strategic product and food staple in Viet Nam, Lao
PDR and Viet Nam. These countries are important producers and exporters of rice
in ASEAN and the world market, similar to the neighbor country – Thailand. Rice
production of these countries has shown significance in ensuring national food
security and nutrition, creating jobs for farmers, contributing to export value. In
terms of economic development, rice is the main source of income not only for the
agricultural households but also for the nation. Rice generates around 1,000 thousand
USD per season for a Vietnamese rice household and 300 USD per season per hectare
for Cambodia household (IPSARD (2021), CDRI (2021). Besides, the rice export brings
up to 3.1 billion USD for Vietnam (in total general export value of 281 billion USD),
469 million USD for Cambodia (in total of 17 billion USD) and 16.8 million USD for
Laos (in total of 5 billion USD). In terms of social security, rice is the main staple food
consumed by populations in all these countries. It is the main source of energy for the
whole day and engages with the traditional cultures in Southeast Asia. Rice plays an
integral role in social security since it generates income for 7.976 million households
in Vietnam and for 1.9 million labors in Laos. On top of that, the total rice production
of three countries accounted for 7.6% of total rice produced in the world in 2021
according to USDA data (2022).

The sections below present the current situation of the rice production of Viet
Nam, Lao PDR and Cambodia. Some parts will be compared with Thailand to show
the role of countries in the region and the world.

1.1. Rice production

- Production areas

Rice production is distributed throughout regions and provinces in Laos,
Vietnam and Cambodia. The countries have formed and developed concentrated
production areas to serve domestic and export market demands. Over the past 5
years, rice production has been maintained and developed quite steadily throughout
these countries. With relatively high average output per capita, all countries can
ensure national food security.

Cambodia forms 3 main production areas including: i) Dry rice production
area, ii) Conventional wet rice production area, and iii) Organic rice production area.
A much larger land area is used to produce rainy season rice, about five times the area
used for dry season rice. The average rainy season rice production is only about 2.5
times that of dry season rice (8.10 million for previous crop rice and 2.54 million tons
for dry season rice), resulting in higher dry season rice yields.

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