A paddy field in the Mekong Delta. The export price of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice has risen sharply recently. – SGT Photo: Trung Chanh

In mid-August, the export price of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice fell to US$385 per ton, down US$100 per ton against the same period last year and the lowest since February 2020. At this time, the export price of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice was US$8 per ton lower than Thai 5% broken rice but still US$25 and US$40 per ton higher than that of India and Pakistan, respectively.

However, the export price of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice is now US$433-437 per ton, which is US$49, US$68 and US$55 per ton higher than that of Thailand, India and Pakistan, respectively.

Nguyen Thanh Long, director of Van Loi Company, said the Government has increasingly tapped rice from the national reserve to support people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and then replenished the national rice reserve, thus boosting both the domestic and export prices of rice. Besides, the recovery of Vietnam’s major rice importers since the beginning of September has further led to the increased rice prices.

Data of the Vietnam Food Association showed that Vietnam exported more than 247,400 tons of rice worth US$121.64 million in the first half of September 2021, increasing 22.15% in volume and 20.31% in value compared with the same period last year. 

However, the country’s rice exports from January to mid-September 2021 dropped over 12% in volume and nearly 4.5% in value year-on-year to 4.22 million tons and US$2.26 billion.

According to the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the cost of rice production in the Mekong Delta, which is the country’s biggest rice producing region, reached VND3,713 per kilogram in the 2021 summer-autumn season, the highest since 2018.

The average rice production cost in the 2021 summer-autumn season in the Mekong Delta rose by VND222, VND156 and VND64 per kilogram compared with the same period of 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. 

Seeding and soil tillage account for 9-10% and 5-6% of the rice production cost, respectively. Meanwhile, fertilizers and pesticides account for 21-24% and 15-17% of the production cost, respectively. 

Other factors that affect the cost of rice production include harvest, transport, package and labor. Prices of fertilizers, which account for the largest proportion of the rice production cost, have soared since the beginning of this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said this is one of the main reasons that the rice production cost in the 2021 summer-autumn season in the Mekong Delta rose to the highest level since 2018. 

Source: Saigon Times

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