Harvesting rice by using a combine harvester (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam shipped abroad nearly 5.2 million tonnes of rice worth over2.27 billion USD in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing the figure ofthe entire 2016 at 4.9 million tonnes, according to the Vietnam FoodAssociation.
In November,rice export volume exceeded 371,000 tonnes, down from over 437,000 tonnes inOctober. The drop was attributed to limited supply after harvest of theautumn-winter crop completed in the Mekong Delta, the main source of rice forexport.|
However,industry insiders still expect a good year in 2018 for Vietnam’s exports as theworld rice market is forecast to pick up next year.
According to aNovember report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), world rice tradewill expand by 1 percent in 2018 to reach 42.3 million tonnes, marking thethird highest yearly volume in history.
The USDAforecast that India and Thailand will continue to lead the world in riceexport, while Vietnam’s rice exports could reach six million tonnes in 2018, anincrease of 6.6 percent from this year, driven by demand in Southeast Asia,particularly in the Philippines.
The NationalFood Authority of the Philippines recently proposed the country import350,000 tonnes of rice before its first rice harvest in 2018 to raise its ricereserve.-VNA
VNA
