Vietnam has up to 8 million tons of rice for export this year – minister

By Reuters

Vietnam has 7 million to 8 million metric tons of rice for export this year, state media reported on Friday.

Rice output this year is expected to be 27 million to 28 million metric tons, the agriculture minister, Le Minh Hoan, said in a report cited by the Vietnam News Agency.

Hoan said output was sufficient for ensuring domestic food security in what was last year the world’s third-largest rice exporter, after India and Thailand.

Rice exports from Vietnam in the first seven months of this year rose 21% from a year earlier to 4.89 million tons, according government data. Its shipments totalled 7.1 million tons last year.

India, which accounts for more than 40% of the global rice trade, last month ordered a halt to its largest export category to calm domestic prices, sending global prices to 15-year high and stoking concern over already high global food inflation.

Prices of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice hit $630-$640 per metric ton on Friday, traders said, adding that trade was quiet as exporters anticipated further price rises.

Vietnam’s trade minister last week said the surge in global rice prices offered an opportunity to increase exports but stressed the need to ensure domestic food security.

This article has been republished from The Economic Times