VN rice exports to rise by 6%: FAO

Rice bags are ready for export in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta City of Can Tho. Vietnamese rice exports in the past nine months reached 5.02 million tonnes worth US$2.3 billion. — Photo nld.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has predicted that Viet Nam's rice exports would increase by six per cent year-on-year to 6.9 million tonnes in 2014.

The organisation attributed the increase to the country's rising paddy yield and the rising demand of Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, China and the Philippines.

FAO estimated Viet Nam's paddy yield this year to hit a record high of 44.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 27.8 million tonnes of rice that represent a year-on-year increase of 740,000 tonnes.

The country is in the summer-spring and autumn-winter harvest seasons, and FAO estimated paddy yields during these seasons would inch down against that of the same period last year, following the Government decision to use some rice-producing areas for the cultivation of other crops.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported that Vietnamese rice exports in the past nine months reached 5.02 million tonnes worth US$2.3 billion.

In September alone, the nation exported 524,000 tonnes of rice worth $249 million.

Wholesale rice prices in the domestic market continuously increased for three consecutive months, including last month because of rising import demand, especially from China.

A tonne of rice with 25-per cent broken rice grain content was priced at $400, a 21-per cent increase against that of September last year.

China remained the largest market for Vietnamese rice, making up 33.24 per cent of market share, followed by the Philippines at 22.71 per cent, Malaysia at 6.1 per cent, Ghana at 5.37 per cent and Singapore at 3.26 per cent.

The United States Department of Agriculture predicted that Viet Nam's rice yield this year would reach 28 million tonnes, equivalent to 45 million tonnes of paddy, and that its exports would reach 6.7 million tonnes. — VNS