Rice being stockpiled at a store of Vinh Phat Wilmar Rice Corporation in An Giang province. (Photo: VNA)According to Vietnam Construction Securities Joint Stock Company(CSI), the energy crisis and the prolonged conflict between Russia and Ukrainehave caused the world to experience a food crisis. On September 30, theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the conflict disrupted grain andfertiliser exports and led to the worst global food crisis since 2008.
The latest IMF study estimated that the 48 most food-deprivedcountries would have to spend an additional 9 billion USD on imports in 2022and 2023 as food and fertiliser prices have surged unexpectedly due toinstability in Ukraine. The IMF also called for the lifting of food export bansas well as other protectionist measures.
Agribank Securities Joint Stock Corp (Agriseco) said beforecurbing rice exports, India had measures to limit exports of wheat and sugar toensure its food security. In Europe, Russia and Ukraine had to restrict wheatexports and other agricultural products due to the conflict.
Many other countries are also moving towards this trend,especially since food supplies and stocks in many countries have been fallingto low levels for many years.
According to Agriseco, the global food price index increasedsharply in 2021 and the first half of 2022. However, during the same period,rice prices declined thanks to large inventories in rice-exporting countries.
However, India's recent curbs on rice exports and the extremeweather in China and many regions worldwide would shortly push global riceprices. That would significantly impact rice exporting countries, including Vietnam,Agriseco said.
Since India, the world's biggest rice exporter, banned exports ofbroken rice and slapped a 20% export tax on some non-basmati varieties, globalrice prices have jumped more than 10%. Last month, the Food and AgricultureOrganisation's global rice price index rose 2.2% to hit an 18-month high,Reuters reported.
India now corners 37% of global trade. The industry's insidershave said that any change in India's rice supply to the world would stronglyinfluence inventories and rice prices in other countries.
They said Vietnam would benefit directly from India's exportrestriction policy, especially with broken rice products. In 2021, Indiaexported 360 million USD worth of broken rice to China, accounting for thehighest proportion with 38.6%. Thus, India's ban on broken rice exports wouldoffer a great opportunity for Vietnamese businesses.
The General Statistics Office showed that Vietnam exported over5.4 million tonnes of rice in the first nine months of this year, earning aturnover of 2.64 billion USD, up 19.3% in volume and 9.3% in valueyear-on-year.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Vietnam isexpected to export 6.5-6.7 million tonnes of rice in 2022 for 3.3 billion USD.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and highinflation, Vietnamese food enterprises have still increased their exports,achieving impressive business results.
Loc Troi Group, a leading provider of agricultural services andproducts in Vietnam, has so far received orders to export 400,000 tonnes ofrice to the EU market in 2023, according to a company representative.
The new export contracts signed with EU partners will be completedin the second quarter of 2023, the representative said.
After the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took effect, the companywas selected to ship the first batch of rice. To date, it has exported 30,000tonnes of rice to the EU.
In September, 500 tonnes of "Com Vietnam" rice producedby the Loc Troi Group, for the first time, was put on the shelves of majorretail supermarket chains in France. After that, French partners imported anadditional 500 tonnes. As a result, all the 1,000 tonnes of rice were sold outwithin one month.
Through E.Leclerc Viry Châtillon, a hypermarket run by leadingFrench retailer E.Leclerc, the "Com Vietnam" rice product reachedFrench consumers and German and Dutch consumers.
Another big rice exporter - PAN Group, has announced its revenueand after-tax profit in the third quarter of 2022 at over 3.64 trillion VND and140 billion VND, marking yearly increases of 43% and 92%, respectively.
This year, the firm is striving to earn a revenue of 14.3 trillionVND and an after-tax profit of 755 billion VND by the year-end, up 55% and 48%year-on-year./.
VNA
