China is an important customer, buying one-third of Vietnam’s rice exports. Japan is another major rice importer in the region, but most of the grains produced in Vietnam fail to meet its strict quality standards. The East Asian country stopped importing Vietnamese rice altogether in 2008 after discovering significant amounts of pesticide residue, although shipments resumed five years later when two Mekong Delta companies started working with farmers to ensure the grains met Japan’s stringent requirements.
The quality of Vietnamese rice isn’t problematic just because it contains too many pesticides. While neighboring Thailand grows high-quality varieties like jasmine rice, which takes a whole year to harvest but sells in top-tier markets such as the United States and Japan, Vietnam produces lower-value types that can be grown more quickly. Thailand is currently facing its own rice crisis, as farmers unable to reap the economic benefits promised by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s subsidy program are increasingly withdrawing their political support for her government. After the Thai anti-corruption agency started an investigation into the subsidy program, China canceled a planned deal to buy Thai rice, but it’s unlikely that Vietnam will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to boost exports.