3:26:37 PM | 7/8/2005
Many rice traders in Vietnam, the world’s second largest rice exporter, are temporarily easing the amount of rice they buy from paddy rice farmers for export processing as they lack funds for the purchases.
In March farmers in Vinh Long province heavily harvested their rice crop, however, the Vinh Long Export-Import Company reduced paddy purchases to only 2,000-3,000 tons a week, down by nearly a half against last crop. “The company has tried hard but can only buy around 60-70 per cent of total demand,” Nguyen Van Khuc, the company director said.
“In Long An, farmers have had to accept deferred payments by 3-4 days as we also run out of money,” Truong Van Anh, director of Long An Food Company, said.
Long An Food Company, a big rice trader in the region, needed around VND150-200 billion (US$1=VND15,795) but even as much as VND270 billion annually, to buy paddy rice for processing. This year however it could only get VND50 billion from local banks.
“The prices of paddy rice have soared by VND250-300 a kilo this year so the demand for money is higher,” another rice trader said, adding "to export 10,000 tons of rice, the required capital must be around VND100-120 billion to stockpile around 30,000 tons of rice".
Paddy prices this week in the Mekong Delta came in at VND2,280 to VND2,350 a kilo, from VND2,250-2,350 last week. Export prices of 5 per cent broken rice have been at US$251 to US$252 a ton, FOB Saigon Port while 25 per cent broken rice was between US$239 and US$240 a ton.
Meanwhile, a shortage of vessels has slowed rice trade in Vietnam. "If I want to sign a contract with loading this month, I would not do that as I am not certain I can get a vessel," said a dealer with a foreign trading firm in Ho Chi Minh City.
Twelve vessels are loading this week at Saigon port a combined 132,075 tons of rice for Cuba, Africa, the Philippines and Japan. Another 12 vessels have ended loading 110,315 tons for Cuba, the Philippines and Africa.
Vietnam shipped around 961,000 tons of rice worth US$266 million in the first three months of this year, down 16.5 per cent on-year on volume but up 5.2 per cent on-year in value.
Vnexpress, Youth
Vietnamese
