In the first five months of 2024, the Philippines' rice imports reached nearly 2 million tonnes, an increase of 20.3% over the same period in 2023. From the beginning of the year until now, the Plant Department (Philippine Department of Agriculture) has issued 4,066 clearance licenses for importing enterprises.
Vietnam is still the Philippines' largest rice export partner. Ranked second is Thailand, with exports to the Philippines reaching 300,227.24 tonnes, followed by Pakistan reaching 144,834.50 tonnes, and Myanmar reaching 65,080 tonnes. The rest is imported from India, China, Japan, Cambodia, Italy and Spain.
In 2023, the Philippines' total rice imports will reach 3.6 million tonnes, down 5.9% compared to the 2022 record of 3.82 million tonnes. In 2024, the Philippines' total rice imports are expected to reach about 4 million tonnes.
According to information from some businesses, the Philippine market is quite fond of Vietnamese rice varieties DT8 and 5451, due to their softness.
Vietnamese rice currently dominates the Metro Manila area and the southern provinces, due to its deliciousness and reasonable price.
