Workers package rice for export at a food processing factory in Long An province (Photo: VNA) Export prices of Vietnameserice have stayed high so far this year, helping the five-month export turnoverfall down by only five percent despite an 11.3-percent drop in volume.
By mid-June, businesses imported304,000 tonnes of rice from India via ports in Ho Chi Minh City. The volumeincluded over 112,000 tonnes of 100-percent broken rice, 54,000 tonnes ofunhusked rice and 12,000 tonnes of husked rice for animal feed production, and126,000 tonnes of five-percent broken rice, according to the municipalDepartment of Customs.
The large import of the five-percentand completely broken rice from India is attributed to the fact that theirprices only stand at some 400 USD and 280 USD per tonne, about 100 USD pertonne lower than prices of the Vietnamese counterparts.
Besides, under the ASEAN -India Trade in Goods Agreement, five-percent and 100 percent broken rice fromIndia is entitled to an import tariff of zero percent. Given this, Indian riceimported into Vietnam boasts much more competitive prices than Vietnamese rice.
Notably, the surge in riceimport from India has been accompanied by an increase in origin fraud.
The HCM City Department ofCustoms said it has detected several signs of fraud and violation by riceexporters and importers.
Phan Van Co, MarketingDirector of the VRICE Co. Ltd, noted many enterprises have imported white ricefrom India to polish, mix it with the white rice of Vietnam, and then exportthe grain to foreign markets under the name of Vietnamese rice, which hasseriously affected the prestige and brand of rice from the country.
As a consequence, somepartners have suspended buying rice from Vietnam, he noted.
Some companies have alsoimported the grain from India and sold it as Vietnamese rice at higher pricesin the domestic market, Co went on.
Pham Thai Binh, GeneralDirector of the Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC, attributed the high prices of andcustomers’ preference for Vietnamese rice in foreign markets to efforts by thewhole system, from farmers to processing and exporting companies, and economicdiplomacy by the Government, ministries, and sectors.
Therefore, only one batch ofgoods with origin fraud can have severe impact on the prestige and brand of itsentire export sector, he noted, pointing out that due to importers’ suspicionover the origin of Vietnamese rice, export prices have declined fast recently,from 520 - 530 USD per tonne in the last winter - spring crop to 470 - 480 USDat present, while the number of export orders has also been decreasing.
If this problem lingers,domestic rice prices will continue the downward trend, causing losses tofarmers, honest exporters, and the entire rice industry of Vietnam, Binh added.
Co recommended authoritiesadopt mechanisms for monitoring imported rice, strictly dealing with violators,and publicising the names of businesses committing fraud.
The HCM City Department ofCustoms said the customs force has stepped up collecting and analysinginformation about rice importers and exporters so as to detect fraud in atimely manner. It has also proposed the General Department of Vietnam Customsto ask the Ministry of Industry and Trade for more details about export rice ofVietnam and fraud warnings, and for additional regulations on rice export./.
VNA
