The prices of rice for exports from Vietnam, the world’s second largest rice exporter after Thailand, have on April 27 fallen slightly by USUS$3-5 a ton against late April to around USUS$256-258 a ton of 5 per cent broken, USUS$252 a ton of 15 per cent and USUS$247-248 a ton of 25 per cent.
The Trade Ministry’s Information Center said Vietnamese rice exporters have secured only a few rice export contracts since mid-April this year and the global demands for Vietnamese rice were slow.
“The domestic rice supply, however, was plentiful thanks to bumper winter-spring crops. Rice traders have bought large volumes to stockpile for later exports,” the center said.
Meanwhile, price of paddy rice at local markets is expected to rise and farmers started reserving more rice for better prices, resulting in insufficient supply. The paddy rice prices are now at around VND2,350-2,450 a kilo in the Mekong Delta region, the country’s largest rice growing area, up by VND50-100 a kilo.
Experts said that the price of Vietnamese rice for exports would surge back again later due to the poorer estimated output of the country’s summer-autumn rice crop because of droughts. Vietnam is forecast to lose around 718,000 tons of paddy rice in this crop.
Drought also caused several difficulties for Thailand, Vietnam's major rice exporting rival, due to its increasing domestic prices and the Thai Government not selling 5 million tons of rice it has in stockpiles before May this year. Thai rice for exports was on April 27 offered at USUS$300 a ton for 5 per cent broken rice, USUS$285 a ton for 15 per cent and USUS$268 a ton for 25 per cent broken rice.
Vietnam is estimated to have exported 500,000 tons of rice valued at USUS$140 million in April, unchanged on year in volume but up 27.3 per cent on year in value, government figures show. So far this year, Vietnam has exported 1.55 million tons of rice valued at USUS$425 million, down 9.9 per cent on year in volume but up 10.6 per cent in value.
This week, 10 vessels are waiting at Saigon port to load a total of 141,850 tons of rice for shipment to Cuba, Japan, Africa, Malaysia and the Philippines. Last week, 14 vessels left Saigon port carrying a total of 172,850 tons to overseas destinations, comprising 33,000 tons of 25 per cent broken rice for shipment to Cuba, 23,150 tons of 5 per cent broken rice to Iran, 56,500 tons of 5 per cent and 25 per cent broken rice to Africa, and 60,200 tons of 25 per cent broken rice to the Philippines.
VietNamNet, Vietnam Economic Times
Vietnamese
