Workers load rice bags for export to the Philippines at Nha Be Port. Viet Nam exported rice worth US$2.56 billion in the first 11 months of 2014. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam exported 5.55 million tonnes of rice worth US$2.56 billion in the first 11 months of 2014, according to the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA).

News website ndh.vn quoted the VFA as saying that in the first 20 days of November, the nation shipped 190,000 tonnes of rice, and from the first day of this year until November 20, it exported 5.55 million tonnes of rice worth $2.56 billion.

The average export price in the first 20 days of this month stood at $474.5 per tonne, which was lower than the $486.6-per-tonne price in the same period last October.

At the domestic rice market, the VFA reported that rice prices dropped sharply from November 14 to 20, by VND300 to VND450 per kilo to VND8,450 per kilo for rice with five-per cent broken grains, VND8,100 for rice with 15-per cent broken grains, and VND7,700 for rice with 25-per cent broken grains.

This year, Viet Nam expects to export 6.5 to seven million tonnes of rice, worth about $3 billion, revealed the VFA.

Traditional export markets for Vietnamese rice include Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as Algeria and Indonesia.

The VFA has also predicted 2015 to be a tough year for Viet Nam's rice exporters in the face of fierce competition from their Thai rivals because Thailand has concentrated on recovering traditional rice markets in Africa and expanding its markets in Asia, especially the Philippines, Indonesia and China. — VNS