Vietnam's rice exports could continue to surge.

India has not yet lifted its ban, global market demand is high, and favorable rice production in the Mekong Delta presents a good opportunity for Vietnamese rice exports.

This assessment was made by experts at the conference summarizing the production and cultivation of the Summer-Autumn and Autumn-Winter seasons of 2023 and implementing the plan for the Winter-Spring season of 2023-2024 in the Mekong Delta region, held on September 14th.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , this year, the total rice cultivation area in the Mekong Delta is over 3.8 million hectares, with a yield of nearly 6.3 tons per hectare, and a total production of nearly 24 million tons, an increase of 416,000 tons compared to the previous year.

Currently, there are 400,000 hectares of autumn-winter rice ready for harvest. The upcoming 2023-2024 winter-spring crop will begin planting from early October to early January 2024, divided into 4 phases with a total area of ​​nearly 1.5 million hectares, an expected yield of over 7.2 tons per hectare, and a total production of over 10.6 million tons.

Over the past eight months, rice exports reached nearly 6 million tons, valued at nearly $3.2 billion, an increase of over 34%. This result shows that the volume of rice exported increased by 20%, completing 89% of the annual plan, while the value alone increased by 34%.

Farmers in Tra Vinh province harvest the 2023 summer-autumn rice crop. Photo: An Binh

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, predicted that in the coming months, the demand for rice in the world market will be quite high due to limited supply caused by the export ban from India. Indonesia has a large demand for rice imports; the Philippines is likely to reduce import tax from 35% to 10%.

"Vietnam's rice export supply is no longer abundant," Mr. Tung said, adding that rice prices are likely to remain at their current high levels until India lifts its export ban.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Anh, General Director of Phuong Dong Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (one of Vietnam's leading rice exporters), said that from 2019 to the present, we no longer need to rescue the rice industry. The price of paddy rice has increased from 3,000-4,000 VND to 7,000-8,000 VND per kilogram.

One of the key reasons is that Vietnam has focused on producing high-quality rice. Since then, we have almost never had enough rice to sell. Currently, Vietnamese rice accounts for 80% of the Philippine market due to its improved quality and popularity among the Philippine people. The Philippines' rice imports have doubled in four years, from 1.8 to 3.6 million tons.

"Rice is currently an essential product; many countries cannot produce it while demand is increasing," Mr. Viet Anh said, predicting that India, for example, will not lift its rice export ban until next year. This is due to the country's low rainfall, good stockpiling capacity, and the upcoming elections in 2024.

This businessman claims that Vietnamese rice is of high quality, fragrant, and even superior to Thai rice, and is currently in short supply. However, the reality is that the supply chain outside the fields is being disrupted. Contract breaches and resale are common occurrences, and there is no legal framework to address them. As a result, businesses lack sufficient supply to fulfill export contracts, suffer losses, break agreements, and damage the country's reputation.

"Therefore, from now until the end of the year, Vietnam needs to balance supply to ensure effective exports, benefiting both businesses and farmers...", Mr. Viet Anh said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, said that according to calculations and the balance of commodity production by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam can continue to export 1.2 million tons of rice from now until the end of the year, which is well within the reach of businesses.

Currently, rice exporting businesses are beginning negotiations with customers for the coming year, so they are very interested in the planting and harvesting times, and the crop structure for the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring season. The Philippines remains the number one market, accounting for 40%. China has recently slowed imports due to high prices, but is experiencing a crop failure and will import more rice in the near future.

According to Mr. Nam, the Autumn-Winter crop still has 400,000 hectares yet to be harvested, and according to the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the upcoming Winter-Spring crop will continue to focus on the strength of producing fragrant, high-quality rice varieties. "This crop will be planted starting from October 10th, and rice will be available for export by January 2024," Mr. Nam said, adding that this is a favorable condition for rice exports.

According to Le Quoc Dien, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Thap province, the locality has 189,000 hectares of land for rice production in the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring crop season. Given the favorable production and consumption conditions, farmers are eager to plant early to sell at higher prices. Therefore, approximately 100,000 hectares of rice will be harvested before the Lunar New Year 2024.

Mr. Hoang Trung, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that rice exports will reach a record high this year. "To take advantage of the current high prices, localities in the region need to protect the autumn-winter rice crop that is about to be harvested and focus on planting the winter-spring crop according to the set plan," the Deputy Minister noted.

vnexpress.net