Rice exports anticipated to fetch over US$4 billion this year

MARD Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said that global economic difficulties and political instability have caused major difficulties for the export of goods in general, as well as agricultural products in particular.

However, the country’s rice exports still recorded strong results and became a bright spot in terms of the nation’s agricultural total in the first half of this year.

The current situation of global rice exports and market development in the first six months of the year, especially as India recently banned exports of ordinary rice, offers an opportunity to Vietnamese rice to make a breakthrough at the end of the year, Deputy Minister Nam continued.

According to information provided by the Vietnam Food Association, July saw Vietnamese rice exports continue to enjoy significant growth.

In the first seven months of the year, the country exported more than 4.48 million tonnes of rice, thereby raking in nearly US$2.4 billion, up more than 17% in volume and 28% in value on-year.

Rice export turnover saw spike due to a sharp increase in Vietnamese rice prices from nearly US$490 per tonne last year to the current figure of more than US$530 per tonne.

According to the association, this year will see rice exports enjoy the most favourable conditions when domestic production grows positively, particularly as most rice-producing regions have converted to high-quality and high-value varieties. Moreover, in terms of the global market, the demand for rice has increased sharply.

The General Statistics Office reported that last year’s rice exports reached 7.1 million tonnes with a value of US$3.46 billion, marking an increase of 13.8% in volume and 5.1% in turnover compared to the previous year.