Commodity Online
HANOI : Rice exports by one of world’s top rice producing countries, Vietnam remained higher in both volume and value since the beginning of the year.

According to country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first six months of this year, Vietnam exported 3.8 million tones of rice, bringing home $1.8 billion, up 25 per cent over the same period last year.

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The Philippines continues to be the top importer of Vietnamese rice, buying up more than 50 per cent of the exports, over $752 million worth. It is followed by Malaysia, buying 8.7 per cent worth $129 million.

The rice market has recently heated up with domestic transactions increasing again after stalling from mid-May to early June when businesses already filled orders signed earlier while two large rice exporters, India and Thailand, announced plans to hit the market with around 5 million tones.

At present, the price of exported rice has increased by $5-10 per tone. Many Vietnamese businesses have signed large-volume export contracts, raising hopes that all the rice earmarked for export from the upcoming summer-autumn crop will find buyers.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s two major rice importers, namely the Philippines and Malaysia, are planning to increase the volume of orders to stock their reserves. The Philippines may import an additional 200,000 tones of rice while Malaysia, about 150,000 tones.

Many African clients also want to buy Vietnamese rice due to its competitive price. Chinese importers are tending to choose Vietnamese over Thai rice for the same reason.

Meanwhile, India and Thailand s plans to export 5 million tunes are yet to be realized because India is still recovering from natural disasters.

This unfortunate turn of events, nevertheless, augurs well for Vietnam s upcoming rice exports. In addition, the government’s implementation of more flexible monitoring mechanisms will facilitate negotiations to sign rice purchase contracts.

As a result, the countries rice export may reach 6 million tones instead of 4.5-5 million tones as initially expected.

At present, the Vietnam Food Association is coordinating with localities to define rice prices so as to ensure a profit margin of at least 30 per cent for farmers, as instructed by the Prime Minister.