According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the drop is due to the New Year holiday (Tet), which meant there were only 20 trading days in January.

At the same time, rice exports are calculated to hit 400,000 tonnes, earning US$240 million, down 25.4 percent in volume and 14.2 percent in value compared to the same period in 2011.

The prices of Vietnamese rice exports fell slightly, but Vietnamese businesses haven't signed many contracts because the country’s rice prices are still higher than those in India and Pakistan.

Coffee exports are expected to be about 170,000 tonnes valued at US$350 million, down 20.9 percent in volume and 15.3 percent in value against last year.