Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam earned1.71 billion USD from exporting nearly 3.5 million tonnes of rice in the firsthalf of this year, up 17.9 percent in value and 4.4 percent in volumeyear-on-year.
In June alone, 409,000 tonnes of rice worth 207million USD was shipped abroad, according to the Agro Processing and MarketDevelopment Authority (Agrotrade) at the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.
The Philippines was the top buyer between Januaryand May, importing 1.3 million tonnes of Vietnamese rice worth 598.6 millionUSD, or 40 percent of total rice exports, up 23 percent in volume and 42percent in value from a year earlier.
During the first five months, markets to whichthe value of rice exports enjoyed the strongest year-on-year growth wereSenegal (18.3-fold), Indonesia (2.9-fold), and China (2.3-fold).
Meanwhile, rice export prices increased 13percent from the same period last year to average 485 USD per tonne.
Agrotrade said the rice sector now has even moreopportunities under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), recentlyratified by the National Assembly and set to take effect in August.
Under the agreement’s terms, the EU pledges to providean annual rice quota of 80,000 tonnes to Vietnam and completely liberalisetrade in broken rice. After three to five years, tariffs on rice products willbe slashed to zero percent./.
VNA