Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese rice exports are expected to growstronger by the end of the year after a brief lulling period, said Tran VanCong, Deputy Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authorityunder the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Over the first nine months of the year, Vietnam shipped 4.9 million tonnes ofrice abroad, earning 2.5 billion USD, up 22 percent from the same period lastyear.

Cong said that this is an impressive result, attributing the achievement to theeffective rice sector restructuring programme which channels focus on developinghigh-quality and fragrant rice to bolster exports to choosy markets.

Up to 80 percent of exports now are classified as high-quality rice and sold atmore than 500 USD per tonne, he said, adding that market diversification hasbeen a catalyst for Vietnamese rice shipments.

China’s sudden imposition of a 50 percent tariff on rice imports from Julyaffected rice consumption in this market, especially sticky rice. At some points,Chinese traders paid only 380 USD per tonne for sticky rice, compared to the 530-540USD per tonne at the beginning of the year. However, Vietnamese firms haveworked to enhance rice exports to Iraq, the Philippines, Malaysia, the IvoryCoast, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In particular, the Government’s new Decree No.107/2018/ND-CP, which will takeeffect from October 1, will remove difficulties and legal barriers for rice exportersto expand foreign markets. Accordingly, rice exporters will no longer berequired to own rice storage, paddy milling, and grinding facilities withprocessing capacities of 5,000 tonnes of rice. In addition, customs procedureswill be simplified, creating favourable conditions for enterprises to exportmore to large consuming markets like China, Europe, Africa, Iraq, Cuba, and theUAE.

In the coming time, purchase demand will pick up in some countries, such as thePhilippines which will be needing to import an additional 500,000-800,000tonnes of rice by the end of this year to refill exhausted reserves andstabilise the domestic rice price.

Chinese enterprises have been working with firms from the Mekong Delta region toseek cooperation in rice trading. Meanwhile, Indonesia and several Africancountries also hold high demands for rice imports in response to output declinedue to floods and storms.

Local firms are seeking ways to boost sticky riceshipments to Indonesia to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market. The movehas increased the cost of sticky rice from just below 400 USD per tonne in Julyand August, to 440 USD per tonne now.

Furthermore, as local firms reduce export costs, Vietnamese rice willgain a competitive edge over that grown in India and Thailand, Cong noted.–VNA