Trade4go

🍚 Vietnam is shipping more rice and earning less. Here are the numbers. Early 2026 trade data shows a pattern worth studying: Jan to Feb 2026 → Export volume: 1.3 million tonnes (+5% YoY) → Export value: $599.3M (-11.2% YoY) → Average price: $464.1/tonne (-15.4% YoY) Volume up 5%, value down 11.2%. That implies roughly $75M less revenue than a year earlier, despite shipping more rice. February alone: 640K tonnes exported, generating $289.4M. Where the rice is going → Philippines: 47.6% of total exports (value +17.6% in January) → China: exports up 5.8x year-on-year → Ghana: down 31% Nearly half of Vietnam's rice goes to one buyer. That's a big concentration risk, even with China's surge. Why prices fell → India's surplus supply pushed its export prices lower, with 5% broken parboiled at $348-353/tonne → India's rupee hit a record low, making its rice even cheaper → Vietnam's 5% broken rice was quoted at $360-365/tonne, unchanged week to week → Middle East tensions put pressure on global shipping routes The bigger picture Despite the squeeze, Vietnam still exported about $6.39B of rice between April 2025 and March 2026. That's ahead of India's $5.62B in the same period, even though India ships far more tonnage (USDA projects 25.0M MT for India vs 8.0M MT for Vietnam in 2026/27). The takeaway: Volume isn't the same as value. India wins on scale, while Vietnam has competed on variety, with fragrant, jasmine, glutinous and white rice. But when a larger rival floods the market with cheap supply, even a diversified exporter feels the price pressure. For anyone in agribusiness or commodities: watch pricing power, not just tonnage. What matters more to you in commodity trade, volume or margin? #Rice #AgriculturalTrade #Vietnam #Commodities #GlobalTrade #FoodSecurity

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 $𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀. They asked the right questions. Knew the product. Gave detailed specifications. You shipped. You followed up. They confirmed receipt. Then silence. 🦗 Two weeks. A month. "Still evaluating. Will get back to you." Then nothing. You have been ghosted. And the worst part — you have no idea why. Most suppliers assume it was the price. So they offer lower. → Still nothing. They assume it was the quality. So they offer another sample. → Still nothing. Here is the truth nobody tells you: Buyers almost never ghost because of price or quality. The real reasons 👇 ① They could not verify you The sample was fine. But your company had no credible online presence, no export history, no verifiable track record. The product passed. The supplier felt like a risk. ② They were never the decision maker The person who contacted you liked your product. The person who actually decides — never saw it. ③ Something changed internally Budget frozen. Project postponed. Market shifted. Zero connection to your product. But ghosting is easier than explanation. ④ You were the backup option They already had a preferred supplier. Your sample was comparison material — or leverage to renegotiate with someone else. ⑤ Compliance surfaced after the sample They liked the product. Then their team flagged a labelling issue, certification gap, or packaging mismatch. They moved on. Without telling you. None of these are about your product. But ALL of them could have been caught before the courier was booked. Before sending any sample — ask these 4 questions: ✅ What quantity would you order if the sample meets requirements? ✅ What is your target shipment timeline? ✅ Who is the decision maker — will they review the sample directly? ✅ Have you imported this product category into your market before? A serious buyer answers without hesitation. An unserious buyer becomes vague. That vagueness is the answer you needed — before the $200 left your account. The most expensive thing in international trade is not the courier fee. It is the time, energy, and confidence lost chasing buyers who were never going to commit. Qualify first. Sample second. Have you ever been ghosted after sending samples? Drop your experience in the comments 👇 I read every one.