Workers package rice for export at the Thao Son food factory (Photo: VNA)
Vietnam retained its position as Singapore’s third-largest rice supplier in the first half of 2025, despite a decline in export prices and growing competition, according to Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.
Data cited by the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore showed that the city-state imported SGD 60.9 million (over USD 47.7 million) worth of rice from Vietnam between January and June 2025, accounting for 24.5 per cent of its total rice imports. This represents a 17.1 per cent drop year-on-year, largely due to falling export prices.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reported that the country’s average rice export price during the period was USD 517.5 per tonne, down 18.4 per cent from the same period in 2024.
White rice remained Vietnam’s top-performing category in the Singaporean market, generating SGD 38.6 million in revenue in the first six months of 2025, up 11.9 per cent year-on-year. The category captured 29.6 per cent of Singapore’s white rice market, making Vietnam the second-largest supplier behind India, which held a 46.7 per cent share with SGD 60.9 million in sales.
Vietnam also led Singapore’s imports of two other key rice categories. Milled fragrant rice and glutinous rice brought in SGD 15.5 million and SGD 4.7 million, respectively, accounting for 57 per cent and 61 per cent of Singapore’s market share in those segments. Despite slight declines in value from 2024, Vietnam remained the top supplier in both categories.
Singapore’s total rice imports reached SGD 248.9 million in the first half of 2025, up 10.8 per cent year-on-year. India and Thailand remained the two largest exporters, with Vietnam in third place.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore noted that while the size of the market remains stable, Vietnamese rice continues to face stiff competition from Indian, Thai, and Japanese suppliers. A proposed bilateral rice trade agreement between Vietnam and Singapore is expected to help stabilise Vietnam’s exports to the city-state in the near future.