Singapore and Vietnam sign agreement on stable sustainable rice trade

“This is Singapore’s first memorandum of cooperation on rice trade signed with a trading partner, and we are happy to do so with Vietnam, which is one of Singapore’s largest source countries for rice,” said Ms Fu.

Singapore imports rice from about 30 countries.

She noted that Singapore imports the vast majority of its food and is not spared from global food supply disruptions.

“Securing global and regional partnerships is essential for ensuring a stable supply of rice for Singapore,” she said.

Mr Dien said the agreement strengthens the connectivity between Singapore and Vietnam, and sets the stage for stable collaboration amid “unpredictable developments of the global market”.

He said enhancing rice trade cooperation is a tangible demonstration of joint efforts to ensure supply chain resilience and food security within ASEAN.

“In the time ahead, we hope that the competent authorities of both sides will continue to work closely together to further expand the supply of prestigious, high-quality Vietnamese agricultural and food products to the Singaporean market,” he said.

Mr Dien added that the agreement marks a concrete step in implementing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between Singapore and Vietnam.

Relations between the two countries were elevated to a CSP in March this year.