Vietnam’s Rice Market

Rice bran, the nutrient-rich outer layer obtained during rice milling, is a highly valued by-product widely used in animal feed production. Vietnam, one of the world’s leading exporters, supplies large volumes of this quality materialto global markets, thanks to its abundant production and efficient processing. Rich in protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals, it offers an economical and nutritious option for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feeds. In this blog, we explore its definition, production process, benefits, and some specifications of this product.

What Is Rice Bran?

Rice bran is a fraction of raw rice that is removed from the starchy endosperm during the milling process. It is a nutrient-dense by-product of rice processing, composed of the pericarp, seed coat, nucellus, and aleurone layer. This material contains high levels of protein, fat, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, particularly oryzanols and tocopherols. At present, it is primarily used as animal feed. It typically appears as a soft, fine powder.

How To Produce Rice Bran?

Rice bran is a component of the rice grain. It is a fine, light brown powder layer located between the husk and the white rice kernel, and it is collected during the milling process that converts paddy rice into white rice. This component accounts for approximately 10–12% of the weight of unmilled rice.

Rice harvested from the field in its hulled form is referred to as paddy. During the milling process, paddy produces approximately 60% white rice as the primary product, along with by-products including about 10% broken rice, 20% husk, and 10% rice bran. The figure below illustrates a typical multi-stage commercial rice milling system.

The rice milling process begins with the removal of the outer hull or husk. The rice husk forms the protective coating of the grain and is composed of approximately 50% cellulose, 25–30% lignin, and 15–20% silica, making it unsuitable for human consumption. As a result, it is mainly utilized for energy production. Carbonized rice husk can also be converted into biochar, which is applied as a soil conditioner, activated carbon, fertilizer processing material, and for other industrial purposes.

Brown rice, also known as cargo rice, is whole-grain rice from which the inedible husk has been removed but the bran layers remain intact. The second stage of milling involves removing these bran layers to produce white rice. Despite the higher nutritional value of brown rice, white rice is more widely consumed worldwide. This feed material is generated as a by-product during this milling process.

Why Is It Commonly Used In Animal Feed Production?

There are several reasons for why rice bran is favorably used in animal feed production.

Rich in nutrients: About 65% of the nutrients in rice are concentrated in the bran layer. In the production of feed for fish and livestock, this ingredient serves as a major nutritional source. It is rich in protein, contains a high level of unsaturated fats, and is abundant in vitamins E, B , phytate, zinc, calcium, and potassium. In addition, it also contains a relatively high amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

Growth and development: With its high content of essential and valuable nutrients, this material helps stimulate the growth of livestock. It meets the high demand for protein and energy, especially during the stages of maturity and reproduction.

Health support: This bran contains a high level of dietary fiber and vitamins, which help support optimal digestion in animals. It can help control body weight, improve gut health, and prevent the accumulation of fatty waste in the digestive system. In addition, it helps strengthen the immune system, enabling livestock to better resist diseases.

Low cost: Rice bran is a by-product of the rice industry and is produced in large quantities, so it is usually low in cost. Using this material in animal feed helps significantly reduce feed costs and brings economic benefits.

Rice Bran For Animal Feed Specifications

Rice bran is commonly produced in the Central Coastal region and the Southern region of Vietnam, especially in the Mekong Delta during March and April. According to the Vietnam Food Association, Vietnam produces approximately 5 million tons of this ingredient each year, a significant portion of which is exported. Recently, both stabilized and extracted forms have become among the first Vietnamese agricultural products approved for official export to China.

Deoiled rice bran

Deoiled rice bran is a product obtained from the process of extracting oil from pure rice bran. This is a high-technology process designed to separate valuable components such as rice bran oil rich in gamma-oryzanol, phytosterols, and tocopherols, as well as dietary fiber, plant protein, and various vitamins and minerals. The extraction of oil from bran does not change its protein content, but it can extend its shelf life.

Specification

• Crude protein content: 16% Minimum (± 1%)
• Moisture & volatile matter: 12% Maximum
• Oil content: 3% Maximum
• Crude fiber content: 8% Maximum
• Ash content: 12% Maximum

Rice bran

• Moisture: 12% Max
• Protein: 10% Min
• Fat: 11% Max
• Fiber: 5.5%
• Ash: 6.0% Max
• Acid value 13 MGKOH/Gram Max
• Starch: 42% Min
• Packing in 50kg/bag

Grade 1 Rice Bran

• Crude Protein: ≥ 8.0%
• Starch: ≥ 60%
• Starch + Crude Fat: ≥ 64.0%
• Moisture: ≤ 12.5%
• Ash: ≤ 4.0%
• Crude Fiber: ≤ 3.0%
• Acid Value: ≤ 8 mg KOH/g
• Passing Rate through 20-mesh sieve: ≥ 85.0%

 

Viego Global – Your Trusted Sourcing Partner In Vietnam

Given Vietnam’s large production capacity of rice bran, finding a truly reliable supplier can still be challenging. Before starting your sourcing process, consider the following questions:

• Are you going to import rice bran from Vietnam?
• Are you looking for a trusted Vietnamese supplier for different product grades?
• Are you seeking stable supply with consistent quality and competitive pricing?

If your answer is yes for all, please feel free to contact us at:

1. Whatsapp line: +84 56 264 6315
2. Email: hello@viegoglobal.com

Being present at the economic center of Vietnam, Viego Global can greatly help you professionally source and execute orders, providing maximum benefits to our clients in terms of delivering a wide range of products at the best competitive pricing. Please contact us HERE for further support about the Vietnam Rice bran Industry!

Rice has always been a traditional strong export of Vietnam. As a rice production hub of the world, the country is set to remain the world’s second largest rice exporter in 2021 with 6.4 million tons, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Till now, Vietnamese rice has been eaten in over 150 countries and territories in the world, meeting the buyers in quantity, quality, packaging and delivery time. This ultimate guide will cover all aspects of the rice market in Vietnam. Read it to learn more about how to source and import Vietnamese rice.

1. Vietnam’s rice market at a glance

Rice production plays a vital role in the agricultural and rural development of Vietnam. It is the country’s main crop, accounting for more than 90% of total cereal production according to the General Statistics Office. The two major rice production regions of Vietnam are Red River Delta and Mekong Delta. These delta regions occupy about 66% of the total rice production area and provide up to 70% of the total material paddy yield of the whole country. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Mekong Delta is still the largest “Rice Bowl” of Vietnam with ​​nearly 4 million hectares by 2019. This delta annually produces over 50% of total national rice production as well as over 90% of rice commodity for export.

Vietnam Area, Yield and Paddy Production, 1993-2020.  Source: GSO

According to GSO, the total paddy area and production in 2020 trend down due to urbanization, crop alteration, drought, and salinity intrusion impacts. However, rice production yields keep increasing for the past four years. In recent years, Vietnam has made a great effort in growing high productivity rice varieties and improving intensive cultivation competence of its farmers. As a result, Vietnamese paddy productivity remains stable and steadily increases every year. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country’s rice output in 2023 reached 43.5 million tons, an increase of 1.9%, due to an increase in area of ​​10,600 hectares (up 0.1%) and productivity reaching 6.1 tons/ha, an increase of 1 ton/ha (up 1.7%).

2. How does Vietnam produce and process its rice? 

Rice has been grown in the country for thousands of years. There are three main crops in Vietnam, including winter-spring crops, summer-autumn crops and summer crops. Have a look at the below table to know more about the timeline of each crop: 

Vietnamese rice production seasons

Most rice grown in Vietnam is wet-rice, meaning that it is grown in flooded fields rather than dry land as it needs a constant supply of water. Seedlings are raised in nursery beds and transplanted after 25-50 days to flooded fields. The paddy stem is submerged in two to six inches of water and the seedlings placed in rows approximately a foot apart. Farmers will then constantly check to make sure the availability of certain water levels till harvesting time. 

When the leaves of the rice stalks begin to turn yellow, farmers will drain and dry the paddies to prepare for the harvest. They then harvest rice by cutting the stalks with sickles. After that, they tie the stalks together and dry them.

Threshing separates the grain from the rest of the plant. This phase has already been highly mechanicalized. Rice threshers and husking machines have relatively met farmers’ demands. After threshing, the grains are dried by exposing to the sun to be ready for storage. In recent years, the application of rice drier has been getting more and more popular. 

The husk is removed from the kernel during milling. The bran layer, which contains the majority of the nutrients, is sometimes stripped away throughout the process. The bran coat on brown rice is still intact.

After going through these processes, rice can be selected identical. In recent times, the quality control process has been highly improved and achieved high effectiveness. The rate of unbroken rice grains is high and rice surface quality is good. Dust and noise are treated instantly inside the machines so environmental pollution can be avoided.

3. Vietnam’s rice classification

Vietnam produces two major kinds of rice including sticky rice and ordinary rice of high and normal quality. The following are the classifications of Vietnamese ordinary rice varieties based on their structures, shapes, and colors. 

• According to structures and shapes: There are long grain rice, middle grain rice and short grain rice.
• According to colors: There are brown rice, white rice, red rice and black rice.

Especially for exporting, Vietnam exports the following kinds of rice: 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 100% broken rice products. Besides, Vietnam also exports glutinous and sticky rice, 504 rice, ordinary rice, rice parboiling and fragrant rice (ST24 rice, ST25 rice, DT8 rice, Jasmine rice, 5451 rice).

In the current export structure, white rice still predominates. Vietnamese white rice is a competitor of Thai average and high quality rice. Regarding export categories, in 2020, the export value of white rice accounted for 32.5% of the total turnover; jasmine rice and fragrant rice accounted for 32.9%; sticky rice accounted for 29.6%; japonica rice and Japanese rice varieties accounted for 4.8% according to the MARD.

4. Was Vietnam’s rice export volume affected by COVID-19 pandemic?

While several agricultural commodities had major drops in 2020, the rice business saw tremendous growth. Rice is the agricultural product with the highest growth value, according to statistics from the Agency of Foreign Trade. Vietnam earned over US$3 billion from exporting rice in 2020, as stated by Vietnam Food Association (VFA), a year-on-year increase of more than 10%. 

Despite the challenges provided by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rice exporters swiftly adjusted their strategies and actively sought new markets, fully utilizing the benefits of FTAs. As said by Vice Chairman of the VFA, Do Ha Nam, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has created a significant potential for Vietnamese rice to enter European markets and then expand into other competitive areas. 

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

At Viego Global, we know it’s more than just finding the right Vietnam supplier since every step of the supply chain requires proper implementation in order to ensure Vietnam quality commodities are well delivered to clients. We always try our best to determine the best suppliers based on customers’ needs. During research on potential suppliers, discussion and factory visits, we inspect every single thing from business license, capacity, to past orders as well as the equipment and the workers’ competence. This is why Viego Global makes sure that you can reach the best Vietnam suppliers at the most competitive price.

If you are looking for affordable-quality rice types with:

• Direct source from rice-growing regions of Vietnam
• Certificates: ISO, HACCP, USFDA
• Diverse packing for bulk import or retail: 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg, 50kg PP bag, …

Please feel free to contact us directly at:

• Whatsapp: +84 56 264 6315
• Email: agri@viegoglobal.com

Apart from Rice, we also provide insights on other Agricultural products from Vietnam. Jump to: Vietnam’s Coffee Market, Vietnam’s Pepper Market, Vietnam’s Cashew Market and also check many other tips for sourcing from Vietnam.