Rice export price falls further

Rice at a Can Tho-based Song Hau Food Processing Joint Stock Company warehouse is set for export.

The ceiling export price of Vietnamese rice will be reduced by US$20 per tonne from March 20 in line with a reduction in world prices caused by increased supplies.

The price cut was announced by the Viet Nam Food Association, which said the price would fall from $500 to $480 a tonne for 5 per cent broken rice and from $480 to $460 a tonne for 25 per cent broken rice.

This was the second reduction this month in the ceiling price of export rice. The first was on March 12 when the ceiling price fell by $10-20.

The association said the reduction would encourage the export of the winter-spring rice crop.

Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Minister Diep Kinh Tan said the rice market would recover. Viet Nam had signed contracts with Malaysia and Indonesia to export rice over the coming months and exports of rice to the Philippines were expected to increase, he said.

From the beginning of this month, association enterprises had begun buying up to 1 million tonnes of rice to maintain price stability on the domestic market.

Viet Nam exported 1.1 million tonnes of rice in the first two months of this year, earning $595 million. The exports surged by 55.6 per cent in volume and 44.5 per cent in value against the same period last year.

The association estimated the nation would export 6 million tonnes of rice this year, 750,000 tonnes less than last year. It planned to ship the largest volume (61.29 per cent) to Asian countries and 29 per cent to African countries.

Last year, Viet Nam exported 6.75 million tonnes of rice worth $3.23 billion, a record high export volume. In that year, the average export price increased by $22 per tonne to $511 for 5 per cent broken rice. For 25 per cent broken rice, the price was $491.

(Source: VNS)