Page 79 - Regional_rice_report_with_full_bookmarks

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

Imported rice consumption for Cambodia remains low, at only 17 million tons in 2020,
as the self-sufficient level is fairly high in Cambodia, the demand for imported rice
is low. In 2020, rice export from Cambodia worth USD 460 million in semi-milled
or milled rice, while fresh paddy rice is only USD 47 thousand. Fresh paddy rice in
Cambodia mainly purchased on-farm, and exported through traders into international
consumption markets, without any records from farmers or traders.

Lao PDR domestic market mainly rely on domestic production, comes from
self-supply from farm production and distribution channel of both domestic and
imported rice. Consumption for processed rice in Lao PDR recorded at 160 kg/person/
year in 2020, with more than 3 million tons surplus for exports and other purposes.
For international market, Lao PDR export value for rice is USD52 million in 2020, with
USD48 million in semi-milled or milled rice, much lower-than-expected output, while
also imported 142 million tons, valued at USD37 million. Lao PDR can produce and
exporting high-value rice for commercial purposes, while importing lower value rice
for feeds or other purposes, making it self-sufficient for the sector.

Viet Nam market is focusing to extend the quality of rice. With the rising trend
of quality food, higher nutrition value, and varieties; consumption per person is slowly
decreasing. From 105.6 kg/person/year in 2016 down to 91.32 kg/person/year in 2020,
Viet Nam is slowly replacing rice as the main food source, into more variable food
sources, such as wholegrain, vegetable, fruits, etc. Decreasing in demand leaving Viet
Nam to have 21.729 million tons/year for reserve, processing, etc. and 6.249 million
tons for export in 2020. The sharp change in domestic market leaving a window for
rice export in Viet Nam. With the accessibility toward difficult markets, and the rising
demands for high quality and safe rice in both domestic and international market, in
recent years, changing in quality, cultivation methods are the key production for Viet
Nam to develop in the future.

Worldwide, the use of cereals for food is projected to grow by about 150
million tons over the outlook period – amounting to a 13 percent increase – with
rice and wheat accounting for the bulk of the expansion. The most significant factor
behind the projected growth in food use of staple products is population growth,
which is expected to rise fastest in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia In general,
31.
the growth in demand is driven mainly by population growth while the potential of
opening new areas for rice production remains limited. The rising demands for rice
in the global markets would make better utilization for rice surplus in Cambodia, Lao
PDR, Viet Nam. Besides, for these countries, there are two markets which needs more
attentions:

+ China, the principal partners for all three countries in the region are
attempting to expand the official trade and limit the unofficial trade with neighboring
countries, especially Vietnam by stricly control rice imports from Asean countries.
Since 2017, China sent a delegation of GACC (General Administration of Customs,
People’s Republic of China) to Vietnam to investigate the conditions and requirements
of Vietnamese enterprises who register to export to Vietnam. In the final list, there
was only 22 enterprises out of more than 100 enterprises are eligible to export to
China. The requirements for exporting to China is very complicated including all rice
shipments must be checked by Chinese authorities for quality - from the growing area
to the processing, the warehousing and fumigation work before the rice is exported

31 OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028 - OECD

78