Phan Minh Thien, a rice exporter in Mekong Delta, was pleased to hear that an importer from the US ordered 1 container of Long Chau clean rice. However, the next day, he could not collect enough rice for the contract.


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Vietnam is a big rice exporter



Thien, director of Co May Co Ltd, said when he got the order, he began thinking of when Vietnam’s rice would match Thailand’s in the US market.

Exporting rice to choosy markets is part of Co May’s export strategy. The US sets high requirements on products, but it pays more than other markets.

However, he said, exporters will have to wait until next year to be able to collect rice.

Meanwhile, Gentraco is now boosting exports to Australia and New Zealand. The markets are promising as they accept higher prices.

Vietnam’s low-cost rice exporters are facing big challenges because of problems with the Chinese market. And the export prices Vietnam is offering to import countries are on the decrease. 5 percent broken rice is offered at $340-345 per ton, a decrease of $105 per ton from last year and $65 per ton compared with five years ago.

Vietnam’s low-cost rice exporters are facing big challenges because of problems with the Chinese market. And the export prices Vietnam is offering to import countries are on the decrease. 5 percent broken rice is offered at $340-345 per ton, a decrease of $105 per ton from last year and $65 per ton compared with five years ago.

Vietnam’s rice price is now at the lowest level in the export market and has to compete with other big rice exporters, including Thailand, and the emerging Cambodia.

The fall in rice export price has led to a drop in the domestic price, especially as the Mekong Delta is entering the harvesting season.

In such conditions, VFA believes that the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan are the markets with the most potential this year for Vietnam.

Vinafood 2 has won the bid to export 50,000 tons of rice to Malaysia, with delivery in March 2019. The corporation is still seeking more export opportunities from other markets.

Rice exporters also are putting high hopes on the Filipino market. NFA, the country’s food agency, has approved a plan to import 1,186 million tons of 5 percent and 25 percent broken rice this year.

To date, 180 Filipino companies have quotas for rice imports, and the figure is expected to rise in the time to come.

In 2018, Vietnam exported 1 million tons of rice to the country, or 13 percent of Vietnam’s total rice exports.

Meanwhile, an analyst said it would be better not to expect too much from the Chinese market. Chinese agencies are checking Vietnamese rice exporters, and are likely to reduce the number of exporters as it did with Thailand. 

Vietnam exported 1.32 million tons of rice to China last year, but no rice export contract has been signed so far this year.


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Nam Mai