Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – High hopes are pinned on Vietnam’srice export in the early months of 2021 after the price of its 5-percent brokenrice exceeded 500 USD per tone last year, the highest since the end of 2011.
The country’s rice export is likely to grow further in thefirst quarter of this year since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led toincreasing food demand in a number of Vietnam’s major markets in Southeast Asiaand Africa which have placed more orders for Vietnamese rice, according toNguyen Quynh Nga from the Vietnam Institute of Industrial and Trade Policy(VIOIT).
Meanwhile, China’s rice imports are expected to bounce backdue to a sharp increase in domestic price and unfavourable weather. China’srising demand will offer a good opportunity for Vietnam, particularly giventhat the two countries have established a hotline to facilitate the trade ofagricultural products which was disrupted by COVID-19.
Vietnam’s newly-signed trade deals, such as the EU-VietnamFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA),are also expected to boost rice shipments and heighten its valueinternationally.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, Vietnam’s rice output totalled 42.8 million tonnes in 2020, downabout 0.2 percent because of the shrinkage of some 192,000 hectares in farmingareas. However, the productivity rose by 50 kg per hectare from a year earlier.
The country exported 6.15 tonnes of rice for 3.07 billionUSD last year, down 3.5 percent in volume but up 9.3 percent in valueyear-on-year.
The areas of high-grade rice varieties have expanded to 74percent, compared to 50 percent in 2015, as a result of the country’s efforts inimproving the value of the Vietnamese rice.
Thanks to that, the shipments of high-grade rice made upmore than 85 percent of the total, resulting in the growth of average riceprice from 440 USD per tonne in 2019 to 496 per tonne in 2020./.
VNA
