Trade ministry: Rice still ample for export this year

Strong foreign demand has pushed up reference prices of export-standard rice by $50 per tonne, but the trade ministry confirmed there would be no rice shortage for export this year.

Deputy minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, who is in charge of managing rice exports, told the Daily after a review meeting on Tuesday on exports in the last four months that there is still one million tonnes of rice in stock. Furthermore, the commercial rice volume will increase in the upcoming harvest, he said.

“In the coming harvest, the country expects to have an additional 3.5 million tonnes of rice, including 1.5 million tonnes of commercial rice. We will weigh the situation to decide the amount for export till the end of this year,” Bien said.

However, Bien declined to comment on some predictions that the rice export volume this year could jump to a record high of seven million tonnes despite the ample inventory. In June, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) suggested to raise the export target by half a million tonnes to 6.5 million tonnes of rice.

Pham Van Bay, vice chair of the association, said the total export in July and August has increased considerably from the same period last year. He estimated that export in September will be steady at between 700,000 and 800,000 tonnes.

The total rice export in the January-August period amounted to 4.8 million tonnes valued at more than $ 2 billion.

Currently, rice exporters are increasing purchases from farmers owing to strong foreign demand.

In August, VFA raised the reference price three times by $50 per tonne. For the 5 percent-broken rice, the guiding price is at $450, while that for 25 percent-broken rice is $410 per tonne. However, the number of rice exporters signing contracts at these prices is insignificant.

“The guiding price is applicable to both contracts under government-to-government agreements for major markets such as the Philippines, Iraq, and Cuba, as well as to commercial contracts,” Bay added.

Currently, all food traders are asked to observe the reference prices determined by VFA from time to time when signing contracts with foreign rice buyers. – Saigon Times

Tags: Vietnam rice, Vietnam rice exports