Vietnam's Rice Exports May Hit Record 6M Tons in 2009: USDA
Vietnam may export a record high six million tons of rice in 2009, the Vietnam News Agency quoted a forecast made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as saying.
Cheaper export prices of Vietnamese rice compared to Thai rice will enable the Southeast Asian nation to increase its 2009 rice export volume by 30% against last year, the department said.
The expected record volume will also help Vietnam close its gap with Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter which is likely to see its rice exports to fall 15% on-year to 8.5 million tons this year, the department said.
Statistics from the Vietnam Food Association showed that Vietnam had earned US$1.73 billion from shipping 4.22 million tons of rice abroad by August 14. The figures were US$46.22 million in value and 113,232 tons in volume in the first 14 days of this month.
Vietnam exported 4.6 million tons of rice valued at US$2.9 billion in 2008, which doubled the previous year’s earning, thanks to high global prices that at one point reached US$900 per ton.
Last year, the prices of export rice rose considerably due to soaring demand and thin supply as a result of a decision by a number of rice exporters including Vietnam to temporarily limit export volume to ensure domestic supply. (VNA)
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