Vietnam has exported 3 million tonnes of rice so far this year, a drop of 5.7 percent from the same period last year, while its revenues have almost doubled, the Vietnam Food Association said on Monday. Revenues from the export of the grain between the start of this year and August 22 reached $1.79 billion, up 92 percent from the same period last year, the association said in its weekly report.
The earnings to date suggested the average export price of Vietnamese rice this year has risen 104 percent from the same period last year to $597 a tonne, on free-on-board basis. The report did not give a reason for the decline in exports, but Vietnam imposed a ban on the signing of new export contracts between March and early June to save grain for domestic consumption.
Its export curb, and those of other countries, has contributed to tightening global supply, which has caused rice prices to treble this year. More than a third of Vietnamese rice exports this year has been shipped to the Philippines, followed by Cuba. Other destinations include Indonesia, Malaysia, Angola and Kenya as well as European countries such as Poland and Lithuania.
Industry executives have said they were in talks with Iraq and Iran to sell undisclosed quantity of rice by the year-end. Vietnam's government has said exporters have secured contracts to export 3.6 million tonnes for the January to September period, while the annual shipment target has been projected at 4.6 million tonnes.
Industry officials say Vietnam is capable of exporting 5 million tonnes of husked rice a year after retaining sufficient stocks to feed its 86.5 million people and for national reserves. Last year, Vietnam exported 4.5 million tonnes, making it the world's third-largest after Thailand and India, but that was down from a record 5.2 million tonnes exported in 2005.