High hopes are pinned on Vietnam’s rice exports in 2021 when major export markets such as the Philippines and Africa continue to sign contracts to buy rice from Vietnam, while many others have great demand for fragrant rice and sticky rice – which are advantageous staples of Vietnamese enterprises.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An recently had a working session with UK Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward to discuss bilateral cooperation in trade and energy.

The first 60 tonnes of jasmin rice shipped to the UK under the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) hit the shelves in London on January 26.

Up to 205 local traders nationwide were permitted to export rice as of January 18, following a list released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade.

VOV.VN - Vietnamese rice exports to the Philippines last year exceeded the US$1 billion mark for the first time, according to statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company will export 1,600 tonnes of high-value fragrant rice to Singapore and Malaysia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced on January 13.

Vietnam, for the first time in decades, has signed a contract with India to buy 70,000 tonnes of 100-percent broken rice from India to meet increasing demand of this kind of rice in the domestic market for producing animal feed.

VOV.VN - Vietnam’s rice export price reached its latest peak on January 3 at US$505 per tonne, representing a record high over the previous nine years, according to rice traders.

VOV.VN - Alongside Cuba, the country is keen to fully utilise incentives as a means of elevating two-way trade turnover to US$500 million by 2025, according to information released during the 38th session of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee which was held virtually on December 30 in Hanoi.

While 2020 has been a successful year for Vietnamese rice exports, more must be done to accelerate the development of the national rice brand, experts have said.