Vietnam plans to export 7mln tonnes rice this year, up nearly 10%

The rice projected to export this year is 10% higher than last year’s 6.37 million tonnes. Dung said rice export this year could be 400,000-500,000 tonnes higher than last year.

Vietnam fully resumed rice exports in May after it briefly banned shipment of the grain in March and limited April shipments to 500,000 tonnes.

Those measures were taken to ensure it had sufficient food during the coronavirus pandemic. Vietnam had put aside enough rice for domestic use, stockpiling 270,000 tonnes of rice, including 80,000 tonnes of unhusked paddy, to ensure food security.

Vietnam’s rice exports in the first five months of this year rose 3.7% from a year earlier to 2.86 million tonnes, according to the government’s customs data.

Last year, Vietnam's rice exports rose 4.2% to 6.37 million tonnes, making it the third-largest exporter in the world after India and Thailand. The largest buyers of Vietnam's rice include the Philippines, China, and countries in Africa, Reuters reported.  

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Source: Reuters