BANGKOK: Nguyen Van Don, director of Tien Giang-based Viet Hung Co Ltd, said rice exports were positive last month, with many contracts signed.
But starting early last week, trading tended to slow, he said, adding that his company has not had any new export contracts. He attributed this to the higher prices of Vietnamese rice compared to last month, and to Thailand’s plan to sell all of its rice stockpiles.
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Dang Thi Lien, director of Long An Foodstuff Co Ltd, said the price of Vietnamese five per cent and 15 per cent broken rice was US$5-10 a tonne higher than the same kinds of Thai rice.
To compete with Thai rice, Vietnamese traders should lower their export price, but domestic rice prices are on the rise, even higher than export prices, making it hard for traders to compete abroad, she said.
Huynh The Nang, chairman of Viet Nam Food Association, said “It will be hard to compete with Thailand in exporting white rice due to our less competitive prices.”
Vietnamese firms previously exported a lot of white rice to Africa, but now firms are only exporting fragrant rice to the market, he said.
“Thailand’s determination to sell all of the rice in stockpiles in the first half of the year will continue to adversely affect Viet Nam’s rice exports. Viet Nam’s export rice prices are predicted to drop further this year. Only when Thailand’s rice stockpiles are sold out can the rice export market recover,” he said.
