Corn Import in Vietnam Trends
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According to preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs, in March 2024, Vietnam imported 871,741 tons of corn with a value of over 215 million USD, a decrease of 6.5% in volume and 9.1% in value compared to the previous month.
The import price in March reached 247 USD/ton, down 2.8% compared to February 2024.
In the first quarter of 2024, Vietnam imported over 2.78 million tons of corn with a value of over 702 million USD, a significant increase of 27.1% in volume but a decrease of 4.8% in value. The average price was 252 USD/ton, down 25% compared to the same period in 2023.
In terms of the market, imported corn to Vietnam is showing a downward trend. Brazil continues to be the largest corn supplier to Vietnam with over 1.9 million tons, equivalent to over 381 million USD, a sharp increase of 22.5% in volume but a decrease of 5.8% in value. The average import price reached 252 USD/ton, a decrease of 25% compared to the same period last year.
Argentina is the second largest supplier to Vietnam with 728,759 tons, equivalent to over 178 million USD, an increase of 80% in volume and 31.6% in value. The import price reached 245 USD/ton, down 26%.
It is noteworthy that a major supplier to Vietnam over many years is also witnessing a price decrease and an increase in output in the first quarter of 2024, namely neighboring Laos. Specifically, Vietnam imported 66,033 tons of corn from Laos, equivalent to over 16.5 million USD, an increase of 11% in volume but a decrease of 20.3% in value. The average import price reached 250 USD/ton, down 29% and marking the steepest decline among the major suppliers to Vietnam.
In 2023, Vietnam imported 104,970 tons of corn from Laos, with a value of over 34 million USD, representing a sharp increase of 35% in volume and 19% in value. However, this only accounts for a share of over 1% in both volume and value.
Notably, there is a significant difference in corn production between Vietnam and Laos. Data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates that Laos’ corn production reached 510,000 tons in the 2022-2023 crop year. On average, from 2018 to 2022, Laos’ corn production was 597,000 tons. In contrast, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Vietnam’s corn production in 2022 reached 4.41 million tons, down 0.8% compared to the previous year. Thus, in 2022, Vietnam’s corn production was 8.5 times higher than that of Laos.
Vietnam is one of the two countries with the fastest-growing corn import volumes in Southeast Asia and has also been the largest corn importer in the region since the 2018/19 crop year. Since 2012, Vietnam has moved from being the 19th largest corn importer to the 5th largest in the world.
As domestic crop production only meets about 37% of the raw material demand for animal feed production, Vietnam must continue to import corn to meet the demand for animal feed.
According to a survey by Statista, Vietnam is among the 30 largest corn-producing countries in the world, as well as among the countries that import the most corn globally, behind only China, Europe, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, and others.
In 2023, Vietnam imported over 9.7 million tons of corn with a value of over 2.8 billion USD, an increase of 1.1% in volume but a decrease of 14.1% in value compared to 2022.
