HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Vietnam’s rice harvested area continues to decline as farmers switch to more profitable crops, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture. Increased saline intrusion and adverse weather trends also pose challenges for rice production in Vietnam, the FAS said.

Harvested area for the 2024-25 marketing year was revised downward from 7.15 million hectares earlier this year to 6.95 million. Milled production was trimmed from 27 million tonnes to 26.5 million, the FAS said, still ranking No. 6 in output.

Vietnam’s rice exports were revised upward to 7.9 million tonnes, which would rank second “on stable production, strong global demand and falling domestic demand,” the FAS said.

Meanwhile, consumption is forecast to drop to 21.4 million tonnes from 22 million tonnes the previous year.

“Consumers are diversifying their diet as incomes rise, resulting in lower per capita rice consumption,” the FAS noted.

Per capita Vietnamese rice consumption has declined from 9.6 kilograms per person per month in 2012 to 6.9 kilograms per person per month in 2022, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam. This equates for a 4% average annual decline in rice consumption.