Rice In Vietnam's Economy

Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of rice, following Thailand. It is the world's second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil. It is first worldwide in black pepper!

Rice is incredibly important to Vietnam not just as an export but as a dietary staple, of course, for the Vietnamese. As our guide Huy says: "We are a country of rice." Over 200 varieties of rice are produced, and production varies from region to region in the country depending on growing conditions as they change seasonally. In fact, Vietnam's Rice Institute is developing a type of rice that can grow in water with 10% salt content in anticipation of higher seas affecting coastal areas due to global warming.

Almost all of Vietnam's rice is cultivated by farmers living adjacent to their fields, an indication of the importance of rice to individual family as well as national economies. Relatively small farm fields are plowed by water buffalo; germination often begins in homes, then shoots are planted, water levels are controlled, the grains harvested by hand. Two to three crops are cultivated each year in three month cycles. Once the stalks of rice are threshed, by hand, the leftover straw can be used as fuel. We were able to view the harvesting process as we traveled to Halong Bay from Hanoi. It is amazing to me that such enormous production levels can be sustained by small farms as opposed to industrial-size enterprises.