The prices of Vietnamese rice are rising, contrasting with the trends in Thailand and Pakistan, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
The price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam, at US$575 per tonne, is US$14 per tonne higher than that of the same type from Thailand and US$34 per tonne higher than that of the same product from Pakistan.
Vietnamese 25% broken rice exports reached US$539 per tonne, surpassing the same type of rice from Thailand and Pakistan by US$27 per tonne and US$22 per tonne, respectively.
Compared with other top rice-exporting countries, Vietnamese rice currently has the highest export prices.
This marks an impressive comeback for Vietnamese rice, as just a month ago, export prices were lower than those of Thailand, Pakistan, and Myanmar.
The unexpected increase in rice imports from traditional partners has driven up market demand. This surge has contributed to the rise in Vietnamese rice prices, pushing them to the highest level globally.
Director of Viet Hung Co Ltd in Tien Giang, Nguyen Van Don, said that in the past two weeks, his company exported shipments to the Philippines, with volumes increasing by over 30% compared with July.
This year, the two largest import markets for Vietnamese rice, the Philippines and Indonesia, have announced increases in their rice import volumes.
The Philippines has increased its rice import target from 4.2 million tonnes to between 4.5 million tonnes and 4.7 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, Indonesia may import up to 4.3 million tonnes of rice, instead of the 3.6 million tonnes announced at the beginning of the year.
General director of Phuong Dong Food Co Ltd Nguyen Viet Anh said that the demand for rice in the market has remained consistently high and price fluctuations are largely driven by seasonal factors.
At this time, with limited supply and countries accelerating imports to prepare for next year’s drought season, rice prices have been pushed higher.
He predicted that Vietnam’s rice exports would remain stable, with prices continuing to rise until the end of the year if India has not lifted its rice export ban to stabilize domestic food security.
Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, said that the demand from traditional Vietnamese rice importers, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Ghana, Malaysia, Singapore, and others continues to be high.
Additionally, Vietnamese rice exporters are expanding into new markets, including the Middle East, Africa, South America, Japan, and South Korea.
Statistics from the association showed that over the past seven months, Vietnam has exported over 5.1 million tonnes of rice, with a value of US$3.2bil, an increase of 25% in volume and 5.8% in value year-on-year.
Vietnam’s average rice export prices to Brunei reached US $959 per tonne, to the United States US$868 per tonne, to the Netherlands at US $857 per tonne, to Ukraine US$847 per tonne, to Iraq US$836 per tonne and to Turkey US$831 per tonne.
With the increase in imports from partners, Nam said that rice exports could reach around eight million tonnes this year, earning more than US$ 5 billion.
Source: The Star
