AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam's rice exports may reach about 7.2 million tonnes, bringing home more than 4 billion USD in 2023, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

MARD Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said that, the world’s economic difficulties and political instability cause significant difficulties for the export of goods in general and agricultural products in particular.
However, Vietnam’s rice exports still achieved good results and became a bright spot in the country’s agricultural total in the first half of this year.
Mr. Nam said that the current situation of rice exports in the world and market development in the first six months of the year, especially as India recently banned exports of ordinary rice brings an opportunity for Vietnamese rice to make a breakthrough at the end of the year.
Vietnam’s rice exports in July and the first seven months of 2023
According to the Vietnam Food Association, in July, Vietnam’s rice exports continued to post significant growth.
In the first seven months of this year, the country exported more than 4.48 million tonnes of rice, getting a turnover of nearly 2.4 billion USD, up by more than 17% in volume and by 28% in value over the same period of 2022.
Rice export turnover increased sharply because of a sharp increase in Vietnamese rice prices from nearly 490 USD per tonne last year to more than 530 USD per tonne now.
According to the association, this year, rice exports have the most favourable conditions when domestic production grows positively as most of the rice-producing regions have converted to high-quality and high-value varieties. Moreover, in the world market, the demand for rice has increased sharply.
According to the General Statistics Office, in 2022, Vietnam's rice exports reached 7.1 million tonnes with a value of 3.46 billion USD, an increase of 13.8% in volume and 5.1% in turnover compared to the previous year.
Opportunities for Vietnam to boost rice exports
Rice export curbs by some countries like India, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will offer opportunities to both Vietnamese exporters and farmers.
According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed the Prime Minister issue a directive on enhancing rice exports in the present context, which should identify tasks of ministries, agencies, localities and businesses.
After the issuance, ministries, agencies and localities will focus on removing obstacles to traders and farmers in order to optimise the opportunities to boost exports, he added.
The ministry reported that Vietnam shipped abroad 4.84 million tonnes of rice valued at 2.58 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, up 29.6% from the corresponding time last year.
The national rice output is expected to reach from 43.2-43.4 million tonnes this year, up 1.8-2% from 2022, the ministry said, noting that with the current production situation, the country is likely to meet domestic consumption and export from 7-7.5 million tonnes.
As of mid-July, localities had harvested over 24.1 million tonnes, up 0.4% year-on-year, with rice prices in the Mekong Delta - the country’s rice bowl - increasing in the month.
Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the MARD’s Department of Crop Production, said given the hiking rice prices, the department has worked to raise the rice farming area for the autumn-winter crop in the Mekong Delta from 650,000 hectares to 700,000 hectares.
To reach the rice output target of 43 million tonnes, the department is coordinating with MARD's relevant agencies and localities in setting out cultivation plans and rolling out technical solutions, he said.
Mr. Cuong also noted that El Nino could hit rice production, especially the winter-spring crop in the Mekong Delta, saying although its impacts in Vietnam might be less severe than in other countries, vigilance should be maintained.
Regarding India’s ban on de-oiled rice bran export, Deputy Director of the MARD’s Department of Livestock Production Pham Kim Dang, told the press that Vietnam’s demand for de-oiled rice bran is not big as the country needs about 4.7 million tonnes of de-oiled rice bran each year, of which only 0.7 million tonnes is imported.
Rice bran can be replaced with wheat bran, he said, stressing that the ban is not a concern for the domestic husbandry sector.
Under the MARD’s rice export proposal to the PM, the ministry said it will supervise production in localities, instruct plant quarantine agencies to facilitate rice production and keep a close watch on market developments in order to achieve the target.
The ministry also suggested what should be done by other relevant ministries and agencies like the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces.
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Source: VITIC/ Vietnamplus.vn