HANOI: According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the level of rice exports in December was estimated at around 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes, bringing the total export volume for the entire year to 5.9 to 6 million tonnes, over 1 million tonnes higher than last year’s figure.
A recent update from the General Department of Customs showed that as of 15th December, the level of rice exports reached 5.66 million tonnes, worth around 2.6 billion USD. This figure represents a rise of 20.9 percent in volume and 23.8 percent in value over the same period last year. In 2016, the level of rice exports was only 4.9 million tonnes, worth 2.2 billion USD. After disappointing results in 2016, the sector has set a modest target to export 5 million tonnes of rice in 2017, due to an anticipated decline in demand and changes to the rice import policies of destination markets.
However, the demand for rice in many markets, such as China, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, increased significantly in 2017, which, together with the efforts to penetrate new markets, such as Bangladesh and Iraq, have helped to improve the country’s level of rice exports, experts have said. Rice import companies also saw a successful year.
Nguyen Van Don, director of Viet Hung Company Limited, stated that the increase in rice exports was largely due to China, the largest market for Vietnam. Don added that rice exports to China are expected to help boost his company’s value of exports by 20 per cent, compared to 2016. Rice exports to other markets, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Iraq, the Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia, also saw a significant increase.
