Auspicious start to Vietnamese rice export in 2018

Vietnamese rice exports have got off to a positive start right from the outset of the year, with promising signs from traditional rice importers like the Philippines and Indonesia.

Rice harvest in the Mekong Delta region. (Photo: nongnghiep)

The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia has recently approved the import of 500,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand and Vietnam to fix the insufficient rice supply and price hike in the domestic market. 

Average-grade rice in Indonesia is currently sold at 14,100 rupiah per kilogramme, a far cry from the regulated floor price of 9,450 rupiah.

The Indonesian Government worked to expand rice distributing network to ensure rice supply to local residents; however, rice price still scaled up as demand outstrips supply. The Indonesia Logistics Bureau (BULOG) said that the country only had 950,000 tonnes in stockpile.

Indonesia planned to purchase rice from its neighbouring nations from the end of January.

Earlier, the National Food Authority of the Philippines also agreed to import 250,000 tonnes of rice and planned to open rice purchase bidding right in January. The country’s rice stock is enough for use in only three days while the minimum amount must satisfy demand for 15 days.

The Vietnamese rice market, as a result, has become more vibrant. After one month, average free-on-board (FOB) price of one tonne of rice increased to 400 USD from 390-395 USD. Prices of dried grain and material rice surge by 350 VND per kilogramme as compared to the end of December, 2017.

According to the Vietnam Food Association, local businesses exported nearly 5.8 billion tonnes of rice and earned 2.5 billion USD in revenue. As of January 11, cities and provinces in the Mekong Delta region harvested 2017 autumn-winter rice on 860,000 hectares and planted 1.35 million hectares of the winter-spring 2017-2018 crop