Vietnamese rice export prices on the rise globally
VOV.VN - The export price of Vietnamese rice in the first quarter of the year recorded an annual rise of 9.2% on average to reach US$531 per tonne, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Vietnam exported 1.79 million tonnes of rice for US$952 million in the past three months, down 19.3% in volume but up 30.2% in value compared to the same period last year.
On average, the price of Vietnamese rice in January and February stood at US$519.3 and US$528.5 per tonne respectively.
Vietnamese 5% broken rice was sold at US$450 per tonne in late March, up US$5 per tonne compared to the beginning of the month.
Addressing a conference on rice exports held in late February, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, stated that rice exports would continue to reap a greater profit as rice prices are forecast to remain high in the second quarter.
Import orders from traditional markets such as China, Indonesia, and Africa are likely to keep rising moving forward, he predicted.
The first two months of this year has seen the value of Vietnamese rice exports to Indonesia increase by 304.6 times, the highest among export markets, while the value of exports to China also nearly doubled compared to the same period last year.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), several countries are at risk of drought in the second half of the year and food production may therefore decline. To ensure food security, the FAO is seeking to increase the purchase of rice reserves, and the move will benefit Vietnam, one of the leading rice exporters in the world.