Amid changing Philippine rice import policies, bilateral rice trade cooperation between Viet Nam and the Philippines needs effective implementation and upgrading.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), an inter-ministerial delegation led by the MoIT, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines, and the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), recently held working sessions with ministries and functional agencies in the Philippines.
The working agenda aimed to promptly discuss, resolve obstacles, and promote the implementation of cooperative contents in bilateral rice trade, especially in light of recent developments in the rice trade between Viet Nam and the Philippines, notably the Philippines' initiation of a safeguard investigation on imported rice.
Rice harvesting in the Mekong Delta. Photo: Son Trang.Accordingly, Viet Nam and the Philippines agreed to continue coordinating closely to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on rice trade cooperation between the two nations, maintaining a stable supply chain and harmonizing the interests of producers, businesses, and consumers of both countries. Simultaneously, both sides will maintain regular information exchange to mitigate unintended impacts on bilateral trade activities.
The Philippine side acknowledged and will study Viet Nam's proposal to upgrade the current MoU on rice trade cooperation or establish a cooperation framework with higher legal standing and stability between the two countries. This aims to ensure smooth rice trade operations in accordance with international legal regulations and practical market conditions.
According to the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), in the first seven months of 2026, the country imported about 3.27 million tons of rice, up nearly 27% year on year, nearly matching the 3.39 million tons recorded for the entire year of 2025.
In the first seven months of this year, Viet Nam remained the largest rice exporter to the Philippine market with 2.53 million tons, accounting for about 77% of the country's total imported rice. However, Vietnamese rice's market share has narrowed to 77% for the whole of 2025, down from 81.5%. Meanwhile, Thailand has increased its market share from 5.2% to 10.5%, and Cambodia has also expanded its share from 0.1% to 2.5%.
The VFA stated that forecasts indicate the Philippines will import a record-high 5 million tons of rice in 2026, aiming to offset a domestic production drop of about 900,000 tons caused by El Niño and to build buffer stocks for early 2027.