Rice · importers
Vietnam is ranked 6th of 96 markets for cereal imports at $5.5B in 2024. This page shows how to interpret that figure honestly and where to look for buyers.
| Market | HS 10 imports |
|---|---|
| China | $14.8B |
| Mexico | $8.0B |
| Egypt | $6.8B |
| Indonesia | $6.8B |
| Japan | $6.7B |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 10 (cereals); rice is only part of it. Source: UN Comtrade, as reported by national authorities; latest available year per market.
Vietnam reported $5.5B of chapter 10 imports for 2024, which is 3.7% of the ranked world total. Japan is directly above at $6.7B, leaving a gap of over a billion dollars, while the Philippines is directly below at $5.1B. So Vietnam is the first market on the list where the value drops out of the $6B-plus group.
Within its own trade, cereals are 1.7% of $325.4B in total imports and the ninth chapter by value. Electrical machinery at $112.7B is by far the largest line, followed by fuels at $25.7B and machinery at $23.3B. Cereals are a real but supporting import stream, larger than steel-related or many raw-material categories in the top five list of the wider economy.
Chapter 10 includes every cereal, and a large share of what a country imports under it may be grains used as feed or industrial input, not rice for the table. Vietnam is Asian and its largest all-goods sources are China at $110.7B, Rep. of Korea, Japan, USA and Thailand. That list is about everything Vietnam buys, so it should not be treated as evidence of where its cereals originate.
The sensible reading is that an importer here may be serving processors and traders as much as retail. Ask early who the end user is, since the answer determines the specification and volumes you should offer.
Rankings are reporter-declared for the latest year available, and re-exports or reporting gaps can affect them. Confirm the current import licence, inspection and phytosanitary rules with the destination customs authority. Check the packaging and labelling expected, the payment instrument, the Incoterm and the entry port.
Customs shipment records list the consignee, the HS code, the quantity and the declared value. Filter to the rice heading and you can see who actually receives it and how regularly. Add the free marketplace on this site to reach smaller buyers, and cross-check every lead against its shipment record.
Vietnam is 6th of 96 ranked markets in 2024 at $5.5B, or 3.7% of the ranked total. Japan is above at $6.7B and the Philippines below at $5.1B.
They are 1.7% of $325.4B in total imports and rank 9th among import chapters. That is a supporting line behind electrical machinery, fuels and other machinery.
No. It is the value for the whole cereals chapter, with rice as one component. Shipment records filtered to the rice heading give a more accurate rice-specific picture.
Confirm current import licensing, plant-health and inspection rules, plus packaging, payment terms, Incoterm and entry port, with the destination customs authority. Also confirm whether the buyer is a trader or a processor.
Keep exploring