Vietnam shipped abroad 264,000 tonnes of rice in October this year for USD 136 million, pushing the total figures so far this year to 5.2 million tonnes worth USD 2.6 billion, up 1.7% and 14.1% year-on-year.
China remained the leading importer of Vietnamese rice with a growth rate of 24%. Strong rises were also seen in many other markets, such as Indonesia, Iraq, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
Average rice prices in the first nine months of 2018 reached USD 503 per tonne, up 13.7% year-on-year. The highest price was recorded for Jasmine rice with USD 575 per tonne, followed by Japonica with USD 526 per tonne.
The export of medium- and high-quality rice increased, while that of low-quality types reduced, now accounting for just 2% of the total export volume.
On October 18 this year, the Philippines closed its bidding and decided to buy 47,000 tonnes of rice, including 28,000 tonnes from Vietnam. The same day, Egypt invited bids for 25,000 tonnes of rice in 2018.
Meanwhile, within the framework of the 10th World Rice Conference in Hanoi, many contracts were signed, including a USD 2.5 million contracts signed between the Hanoi Trade Joint stock Corporation (Hapro) and its Australian and Malaysian partners.
According to the Department of Agro-Product Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Department, domestic rice prices will continue to rise as buyers purchase more materials for their export orders.
Currently, many localities have finished the harvest of their summer-autumn crop, while some others start to harvest their autumn-winter crops. The prices of rice of autumn-winter crops have increased slightly due to a shortage in supply.
In Vinh Long, rice price is between VND 5,300 per kilo and VND 10,000 per kilo, while that in Bac Lieu varies from VND 6,200 per kilo to VND 6,300 per kilo.