Rice exports surpass 2016 volume

Farmers in a paddy field in the southern province of Long An are seen harvesting rice. The volume of rice exports in the year to early this month had beaten the 2016 figure - PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

Vietnam’s rice exports in the year to early this month had risen by a staggering 41% year-on-year to more than 5.2 million tons, beating last year’s volume of around 4.8 million tons, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

VFA said in a report that Vietnam had achieved the highest rice export growth rate among the world’s top five rice exporters, namely Thailand, India, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States, though Vietnam’s rice trade remains smaller than that of Thailand and India.

As of October 3, Thailand had exported more than eight million tons of rice, up 16.5%; India with over 8.3 million tons, up a mere 2.8%; Pakistan with around 1.9 million tons, down 26.8%; and the U.S. with about 2.6 million tons, up 3.2%.

Overall, the five exporters sold around 26.2 million tons, a year-on-year rise of 9.4%.

Pham Thai Binh, director of Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC, told the Daily that China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and African countries will sustain their high demand for Vietnamese rice in the remainder of the year.

However, he was anxious whether local rice exporters can secure enough rice stocks for their export contracts. He explained the volume of rice is now in short supply, partly due to floods.

As earlier covered in the Daily, former VFA chairman Huynh The Nang said Vietnam is likely to export around 5.6 million tons of rice this year, with about 1.8 million tons set to be shipped in the last quarter.

However, some insiders forecast the figure may exceed 5.6 million tons, given positive results so far.