Vietnamplus

Vietnam’s rice export is estimated to drop to 5.65 million tonnes in 2016, down 14 percent against the previous year and 800,000 tonnes lower than initial forecast.

ietnam's rice exports in the first half of the year fell by 32 percent over the same period last year, mostly due to competition from other countries, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has said.

A revised protocol on plant quarantine for Vietnam’s rice and rice bran exports to China was announced during a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 7.

Vietnam’s rice brand is not strong enough to be well known in the global market although the country is one of the world’s largest rice exporters, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28.

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) aims to export 1.6 million tonnes of rice in the second quarter of this year, 200,000 tonnes lower than initially planned.

Local rice exporters have offered a higher export price due to price rise in the domestic market, thereby losing the advantage in the competitive world market, said experts.

Vietnam exported nearly 315,000 tonnes of rice as of January 28, an increase of 46 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

Vietnam's rice exports this year excluding border trade are expected to remain at last year's 6.5 million tonnes, according to the Vietnam Food Association.

Vietnam’s rice exports are likely to exceed the target set for 2015 by 200,000 -300,000 tonnes, hitting around 6.5 million tonnes for the year.

Exporters signed contracts to sell nearly 2 million tonnes of rice overseas in October, exceeding the figure of the same period last year by over 22 percent and a record volume for one month.

Rice demand from Vietnam's traditional markets is showing signs of recovery for the next six months, according to Huynh Minh Hue, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

Vietnam exported over 3.8 million tonnes of rice, raking in 1.6 billion USD from January 1 to August 31, showing considerable drops in both volume and value over the same period last year.