Vietnam seals Philippines rice contracts
Vietnam recently scored contracts to sell 120,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines ending a dry spell for the country's grain exports, said director of the Thinh Phat Food Co Lam Anh Tuan.
Under the deal, Vietnamese rice export prices have been increased in recent weeks, with loading to begin next month.
The 5-percent broken rice was quoted last week at US$400-405 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Sai Gon Port, up around 10% from early this month.
Vietnamese rice sales have also risen following agreements with the Philippines and increased demand from China.
The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) said that China, Vietnam's biggest rice importer in the first eight months of this year, bought roughly 1.68 million tonnes, up 3.2% over the same period last year.
However, the association last week called on the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strictly monitor border rice sales to China as it was difficult to know how much of the grain was being sent across the border.
It is said rice exported via border trade, was not included in the country's statistics and escaped quality restrictions, risking damage to the image of Vietnamese rice
VFA chairman Truong Thanh Phong forecast that the country's rice exports would reach 1.8 million tonnes in the fourth quarter this year, 128,000 tonnes below the targets, due to a slump in exports in September.
Vietnam plans to ship around 7 million tonnes of rice abroad this year, 0.5 million tonnes less than expected.
By September 30, Vietnamese rice export volume had reached 5.2 million tonnes.