The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) reported that Vietnam’s 5% broken rice is currently quoted at 0.393 USD per kg, down 0.003 USD from last week.

Vietnam aims to improve the quality and value of export rice by reducing the proportion of low and medium-grade white rice while increasing the share of aromatic, Japonica, and specialty rice varieties.

Customer demand remains high, with Vietnam exporting over one million tonnes of rice in the first two months of the year.

V. Subramanian, co-founder of SSricenews, noted a growing rice demand from Malaysia, China, and Africa, where buyers are increasing their purchases. This trend signals a potential trade boom in the coming months.

Rice exports set new records in both volume and value in 2024 but the commodity is expected to face a difficult year ahead as India lifted its ban on non-basmati white rice exports in September, which will push up global rice supplies next year.

With positive results recorded so far, Vietnam can exceed its target of 7.6 million tonnes in rice export volume set for 2024, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, said at a conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 26.

This year is forecasted to be the second consecutive year that Vietnam’s rice exports exceed 8 million tonnes, bringing in about 5 billion USD.

Vietnam’s rice export has been shifting significantly toward high-quality and speciality products rather than quantity, with an annual stable turnover from 6.2 to 6.3 million tonnes in 2019-23, chairman of Vietnam Food Association Nguyen Ngoc Nam said at the Rice News Convention in the central city on March 6.

The recent falls in rice prices are only short-term and the upward trend will continue in 2024 on limited supply, providing significant opportunities for Vietnam’s rice export, analysts have said.

The agriculture sector and traders have expressed their high optimism about rice exports this year given high prices and stable markets, helping the grain remain a big foreign currency earner.

More should be done by rice exporters to understand the market and minimise risks, said industry insiders and experts.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is close monitoring rice production and the world rice market with a view to promptly tackling arising problems and facilitating rice production, business and export.

The prices of Vietnamese export rice have soared to the highest level ever, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced the list of 210 businesses that are eligible to export rice.

Greater demand in the international market has resulted in higher rice prices in the domestic market in recent months, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan.

Despite a bright outlook predicted for rice exports in the second half of 2023, the rice sector still needs more support to shift from quantity to quality to seize global market opportunities.

The chance has come and doesn’t wait any, so it is necessary seize it to step up rice export, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan told this ministry’s meeting on July 6.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued an official dispatch on enhancing the implementation of tasks and measures to promote rice production and export.

Strong rice export demand coupled with waning supplies have caused prices to surge in the market since the beginning of 2023.

Vietnam exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter of 2023 worth over 900 million USD, a 19% increase in quantity and 30% rise in value compared to the same period in 2022.