Thirty-six years after its first rice export shipment, Vietnamese agricultural products are increasingly affirming their position globally, marked by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s efforts in market opening and international integration.

Market-opening milestones in the global journey of Vietnamese agricultural products

On August 23, 1989, a vessel carrying 10,000 tons of Vietnamese rice with 35% broken grains arrived at an Indian port at a price of USD 235 per ton, marking a major turning point for Vietnam’s agricultural exports. In just over four months at the end of 1989, Vietnam exported 1.4 million tons of rice, generating USD 322 million in export turnover with an average export price of USD 226 per ton. This event marked the beginning of Vietnam’s rice industry journey, which has continuously expanded over several decades and significantly influenced the global rice market.

“That was not merely a commercial contract, but a milestone marking Vietnam’s entry into the global market with its own rice,” agricultural expert Hoang Trong Thuy shared with Industry and Trade Newspaper reporters.

According to Mr. Hoang Trong Thuy, looking back over more than three decades, the journey of Vietnamese rice also reflects the country’s development process and international economic integration. Approximately every ten years, the rice sector has achieved a new milestone.

In 1999, rice export turnover surpassed USD 1 billion for the first time. By 2009, export volume exceeded 6 million tons. In 2011, Vietnam set a record with 7.1 million tons of rice exports, generating USD 3.65 billion in turnover.

Notably, alongside volume growth, the development mindset of the rice industry also changed significantly. Vietnamese rice no longer competed mainly on low prices but gradually shifted toward improving quality, building brands, and increasing value.

June 30, 2022 became a memorable milestone when Vietnamese rice was exported under its own brand after surpassing more than 600 stringent testing criteria. Since then, aromatic rice varieties such as ST and OM have gradually established their presence in demanding markets such as the EU, Japan, and the United States.

Behind this transformation lies a long process of market opening and leveraging next-generation free trade agreements such as the EVFTA, CPTPP, and UKVFTA. Commitments on tariffs, quotas, and technical standards have opened additional doors for Vietnamese agricultural products to enter premium markets.

For rice alone, the EU grants Vietnam annual quotas of tens of thousands of tons at a 0% tariff rate, creating more room for enterprises to expand their markets.

From merely selling what was available, Vietnamese agriculture has gradually shifted toward production based on market demand. Enterprises such as Loc Troi Group, Vinaseed, and Tan Long Group no longer simply purchase rice but have invested in raw material zones, cooperative linkages, logistics development, and traceability systems.

In 2024, Vietnam’s rice exports reached approximately 9 million tons with turnover of USD 5.7 billion, the highest level ever recorded. The average export price reached nearly USD 628 per ton, reflecting a strong shift from competing on quantity to competing on quality and added value.

Vietnamese rice is now present in more than 150 countries and territories. The pride lies not only in output or export turnover, but also in the fact that Vietnamese rice is increasingly being recognized as a high-quality product in the global market.

If rice was the pioneering product, fruit has become a clear demonstration of Vietnamese agriculture’s ability to conquer demanding markets. In 2008, dragon fruit became the first Vietnamese fruit exported to the United States. Subsequently, longan, rambutan, lychee, star apple, and mango entered markets with extremely high standards such as the United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

For a fruit product to gain access to these markets, years of technical negotiations, dossier completion, and compliance with strict quarantine procedures are often required. Vietnamese lychee entered Australia in 2015 after more than 12 years of negotiations. Cat Chu mango entered Japan after five years of technical process completion. Fresh longan was approved by Australia in 2019 following a rigorous quality assessment process.

Behind every exported container of agricultural products lies not only the effort of farmers and enterprises but also persistent work in market opening, trade promotion, and removal of technical barriers. To date, Vietnamese fruit has reached around 60 countries and territories. In the first four months of 2026 alone, fruit and vegetable export turnover reached nearly USD 2.06 billion, up approximately 22% year-on-year.

Export structures have also improved positively alongside volume growth. Many enterprises are paying greater attention to deep processing, developing frozen products, dried products, and concentrated juices to increase added value and reduce dependence on raw exports.

Expanding markets, increasing agricultural value

Throughout its 75 years of development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not only facilitated goods circulation but also played a key role in opening markets for Vietnamese agricultural products.

This role is reflected through negotiations of free trade agreements, expansion of export markets, trade promotion, e-commerce development, logistics development, and connecting enterprises with international distribution systems.

Amid rapidly changing global markets and increasingly stringent requirements for traceability, green development, and sustainability standards, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has identified export market diversification and reduced dependence on several traditional markets as strategic priorities.

At the same time, the sector is promoting digital transformation in agricultural production and consumption, developing traceability systems, and investing in cold storage, logistics centers, and modern processing infrastructure to reduce circulation costs and enhance competitiveness.

Another important orientation is supporting Vietnamese agricultural products to participate more deeply in global value chains through connections with major retail groups and international distribution systems.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also aims to strengthen the promotion of Vietnamese agricultural brands associated with quality, green standards, and sustainable development, while helping enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers access e-commerce platforms and modern distribution channels more effectively.

However, behind the billion-dollar figures remain numerous challenges. Farmers continue to face rising production costs and unstable market conditions at various times. Therefore, according to Mr. Hoang Trong Thuy, the challenge for Vietnamese agricultural products today is no longer increasing output at all costs, but rather improving quality, building brands, and increasing value throughout the supply chain.

“If Vietnamese agricultural products want to go further, they cannot rely solely on diligence. They also need technology, deep processing, modern logistics, and market-oriented thinking. In that journey, the market-building role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to be a crucial link in elevating Vietnamese agricultural products in the new era of integration,” Mr. Hoang Trong Thuy stated.

Close coordination between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other ministries and sectors is helping create additional room for Vietnamese agricultural products to expand exports to new and promising markets.

Source: Bao Cong Thuong