Vietnam Exports 1.9Mln Tons of Rice This Year

Vietnam Exports 1.9Mln Tons of Rice This Year

Of the total rice exports, around 47 per cent were under government-to-government contracts and the remaining 53 per cent were commercial ones, said Vietfood, the country’s rice export managing body.

No comparison figures against the same period last year were released, however, the average export prices were around US$247 million a ton, up by US$40 a ton against last year, the association said.

Truong Thanh Phong, chairman of Vietfood, said the higher rice demands in the world would help Vietnam fulfill the rice export target this year. "If everything goes smoothly, the country can earn US$1 billion from rice exports this year," he said.

In Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta region, the country's largest rice growing area for exports, traders on May 16 were offering high-quality 5 per cent broken rice at US$251 a ton, while 15 per cent and 25 per cent broken rice at US$242 and US$239 a ton, a slight fall of US$3-4 a ton from the previous week.

In related news, Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, has expressed its wishes to reach an agreement with Vietnam under which the two countries would increase the prices of their rice on the international market, as proposed by the Thai Trade Ministry.

• VNA