The Philippines remains Vietnam’s largest rice importer which accounts for nearly 41 percent of the country’s total export value, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam shipped a record 5.55 million tonnes of rice worth 2.56 billion USD, up nearly 12 percent in volume and 14.5 percent in value.

The price of Vietnamese rice in the first eight months reached 470 USD per tonne, up 3 percent over the same period last year. The price hike was attributable to scanty supplies resulting from consecutive natural disasters in large rice consumers and exporters such as China, Thailand and Pakistan.

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) forecast that Vietnam is likely to export 7.2 million tonnes of rice this year.

According to the MARD’s Cultivation Department, the country’s total rice output in 2010 is expected to exceed 39 million tonnes. Of which, around 1.5 million tonnes of rice will be reserved for exports.

At present, it is necessary to encourage rice exports as the domestic rice supplies are abundant, the department said.

Source: VNA