Rice exports fell 17.4% year-on-year in January to US$203 million as global demand shrank.
In volume terms, they declined by 20.9% to 400,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Global demand was lower since inventories remained high in many countries, it said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its January report that the global rice trade is set to fall by 4% this year to 54.4 million tons, the first drop since 2019.
The Thai Rice Exporters Association has lowered the export target for this year from 8 million tons to 7.5 million tons, fearing global crises would affect trade.
Vietnam expects exports to recover by the end of March as the Thai baht continues to gain against the U.S. dollar, making that country’s rice less competitive.