Vietnam's new rice export decree keeps the ministry certificate as its main gate, eases the paperwork behind it and moves three grades outside it. Decree 365/2026/ND-CP, signed September 23 and in force since October 1, replaces Decree 107/2018 and its 2025 amendment, Decree 01/2025 (Decree 365/2026/ND-CP).

A trader needs a certificate of eligibility to export rice (Giấy chứng nhận đủ điều kiện kinh doanh xuất khẩu gạo) from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. That requires at least one dedicated warehouse and one rice mill meeting food-safety and technical standards (Article 4). Only certificate-holders can accept entrusted export contracts (Article 3), and exporters must hold a circulating reserve of at least 5% of what they shipped in the previous six months (Article 12). Certificates issued under Decree 107/2018 run to their stated expiry (Article 26). The certificate also comes faster, in 10 working days instead of 15 (Article 6), and holders file one report on the 5th of each month in place of three a month (MoIT, Sept 25).

Exporters of those three grades need no certificate, no warehouse or mill, no reserve and no reporting (Article 3). For buyers, the certificate check now depends on grade. A seller of standard grades should be able to show one or, for a foreign-invested exporter active in rice since before 2010, its existing license (Article 26). A seller of organic, parboiled or fortified rice needs neither, so a missing certificate no longer signals a problem. Due diligence on those grades moves to quality, labeling and traceability.

Traders bringing rice into Vietnam must notify the ministry of their import plans (Article 3), and have 45 days from October 1 to register them (Article 26).

The exemptions arrive in a falling market. Nine-month exports were 6.4 million tonnes worth $3.11 billion, down 6.1% in volume and 10.9% in value, at an average $484.8 per tonne, 5.1% lower (Doanh nghiep & Tiep thi, Oct 5). Through August, the Philippines took 40.9% of exports, though sales there fell 16.8%; China took 17.4%, with sales up 76% in value, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (CafeF, Oct 2; Vietstock, Oct 5). Specialty-grade exporters face none of the warehouse, mill or reserve requirements; standard-grade exporters must still meet them.

In my reading, the exemptions are meant to pull supply toward differentiated grades. The next lever is an annual credibility assessment of rice exporters by ministries and provincial governments, starting January 1, 2028 (Articles 14 and 26). The first signal will be whether the exempt grades gain export share over the next two quarters.

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