Vietnam consumed 5.2 billion instant noodle packets in 2018, up 2.8% year-on-year and ranking fifth globally, according to the World Instant Noodle Association (WINA).

For the last two years, Vietnam’s instant noodle consumption has been growing steadily with the amount of packets consumed in 2018 increasing 8.3% against that in 2015.

As of present, Vietnam ranked fifth globally in terms of instant noodle consumption, behind China with 40.25 billion packets, Indonesia with 12.54 billion packets, India with 6.06 billion packets and Japan with 5.78 billion packets.

In terms of per capita consumption, with the population of nearly 95 million in 2018, a Vietnamese consumes nearly 55 instant noodle packets per year, higher than leading nations in instant noodle consumption, including China with an average of 31 packets for person, Indonesia with 46.4 and Japan with 45.8.

In Vietnam, an increase in the volume of instant noodle consumption was thanks to a wide range of products available to customers, as well as growing number of enterprises from abroad and of domestic joining the market.

Statistics revealed there are 50 producers of instant noodles in Vietnam, in which 70% of the market shares currently belong to Vina Acecook, Masan and Asia Food. The former maintains the top spot, holding 50% market share in urban areas and 43% nationwide.

Meanwhile, Masan and Asia Food are dominating in rural areas, with the combined market share of 60%.

In 2018, Acecook reported growth rate of 13% year-on-year with sales number of 100 million of instant noodle packages. In the first six months of 2019, the company sold over 50 million packages, up 4% year-on-year.