According to the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Philippines, the country had imported 1.26 million tonnes of rice during the period, down 11% from 2020, including 1.12 million tonnes from Vietnam.
It attributed the decrease to rising world rice prices, global logistics issues and improved domestic output.
The Philippines also bought over 2,600 tonnes of rice from Pakistan and more than 109 tonnes from India on the back of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rates on rice dropping to 35% from 40% for in-quota purchases and 50% for out-quota volume.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs reported that in the first seven months of this year, Vietnam shipped over 1.27 million tonnes of rice worth US$665.72 million to the Philippines, accounting for 35.3% of the country's total rice exports and 36.4% of its revenue.
The Philippines remained the largest rice importer of Vietnam in the reviewed period.
