Rice exports less competitive

Vietnam’s rice exporters have increased prices between US$380 and US$390 per tonne of 5 percent broken rice, and between US$365 and US$375 per tonne of 25 percent broken rice, while rice exporters in other regional countries have retained their current prices.

Nguyen Van Don, Director of Vietnam Ltd Company in Tien Giang province, said rice prices on the domestic market had been raised at frequent intervals recently because of the impact of El Nino to the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta region and the increased demand for rice in border regions, Vietnamplus reported.
As rice prices increased in the domestic market, the enterprises hiked the offer price for export rice by between US$5 and US$10 per tonne to between US$365 and US$390, but the prices were US$10 to US$20 higher than the acceptable buying price, and between US$10 and US$15 more than the export price of Thai rice, he said.

Huynh The Nang, Chairman of Vietnam Food Association (VFA), said Vietnam’s rice export prices were much higher than average export price on the world market so Vietnamese rice has lost its sheen.

Now, as the price is rising, rice exporters will find it more difficult to sign contracts with high volumes, according to some exporters.

So, most exporters have purchased rice from the market to fulfil contracts that they signed before domestic prices increased. Some rice exporters could face losses because they signed contracts when prices were increasing in the domestic market, the association said.

By March 15, Vietnam exported 1.1 million tonnes of rice, earning US$475 million doubling volume and value against the same period last year, the association said.

The VFA anticipates that exports would reach 1.3 million tonnes in the first quarter, 56% up from the same period last year.