Vietnam had exported 7.495 million tonnes of rice for 3.44 billion USD as of December 20, 2012, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

VFA said on December 24 that the figure included 398,113 tonnes shipped from December 1-20, which brought home 193.265 million USD.

In the Mekong Delta region, the country’s largest rice bowl, prices of dried rice is fluctuating between 5,300-5,400 VND per kg and that of long grain, ranging between 5,500-5,600 VND per kg.

Vietnam’s rice output for 2012 is expected to reach 43.7 million tonnes, an increase of 1.45 million tonnes over last year’s figure, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. -VNA