Vietnamese rice exporters see great opportunities

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that Vietnam enjoyed growth in rice exports in three consecutive months, with month-on-month rises of 19% in volume and 20.5% in value recorded in September.

Compared to the same period last year, rice exports in September rose 54.5% in volume to 593,624 tonnes with value of US$293.15 million.

In the January-September period, Vietnam shipped abroad 4.57 million tonnes of rice, earning US$2.42 billion, down 8.3% in volume and 1.2% in value. However, the price of Vietnamese rice rose 7.8% in the period.

Experts attributed the drops to the COVID-19 impact to the harvesting and transport of rice in the Mekong Delta region – a major rice bowl of Vietnam. However, they predicted that the rice sector will recover fast when the pandemic is controlled.

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam is anticipating a great chance to increase exports when a fall is forecast in other rice supply sources such as India and Thailand while the global demand is rising.

Securities firm Mirae Asset Vietnam held that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which has become effective since August 2020, is helping to boost Vietnamese rice exports to the European market.

At the same time, the US Department of Agriculture predicted that global rice consumption in the 2021-2022 crop will rise 1.8% year on year, which is coupled with a rise in rice prices.

Thanks to higher prices, Vietnamese rice exporters are expected to enjoy good growth in profits.