Viet Nam earned nearly $2.8 billion from exporting more than 6.3 million tonnes of rice last year. — Photo giacavattu

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) has promised that it will buy all commodity rice from farmers this year regardless of gloomy export prospects.

Rice exports are expected to face difficulties this year as China, the largest importer of Vietnamese rice, tightens imports via border gates and puts quotas on its companies. China imports 30 per cent of total rice exports.

VFA chairman Nguyen Hung Linh cited stiff competition from major rice exporters such as Thailand, India and Pakistan in terms of both quality and price as a big challenge in 2015.

Thailand, the world's top rice exporter, was likely to sell out its huge volume of stockpiled rice this year, putting Vietnamese businesses under the pressure of falling rice prices, he added.

Financial difficulties, poor cultivation planning and outdated technology also hindered local companies.

Linh predicted that world rice demand was likely to rise or at least remain the same, so Vietnamese exporters should actively seek ways to win contracts and set firm footholds in foreign markets.

Viet Nam earned nearly $2.8 billion from exporting more than 6.3 million tonnes of rice last year. — VNS