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He made the statement at a press conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hanoi at the end of the afternoon on August 1. Moreover, Director of the Planning Department Nguyen Van Viet said that in recent days, rice prices have increased very high. For instance, IR50404 rice price increased to VND6,500 per kg while OM 5451 rice to VND6,800 a kg and Dai fragrant rice to VND6,950 a kg.
Vietnam's rice exports in the first seven months of 2023 reached 4.84 million tons, up 29.6 percent, bringing US$2.58 billion back to the country.
Answering the press about the production situation and seizing the opportunity to promote rice exports in the context of the world rice price continuously increasing, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production revealed that the Department of Crop Production has arranged to increase the production area of the autumn-winter crop in the Mekong Delta from 650,000 ha to 700,000 ha while rice prices are hiking.
India’s ban on rice export has allowed Vietnam to sell rice at higher prices; therefore, the Southeast Asian country should grasp this, said Mr. Cuong. He also informed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on July 31 submitted to the Prime Minister its proposal for increasing rice exports in the current context.
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Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien chairs the conference |
After the PM’s directive is given, ministries and localities will adopt technical and administrative solutions to remove difficulties for businesses and farmers to increase rice exports.
According to the Director of the Department of Crop Production, the Department planned that farmers will grow rice on 7.1 million hectares in 2023 with the output expected to reach over 43 million tons. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has checked rice production in the Red River Delta, the North Central Coast and the Mekong Delta regions. The Ministry confirmed that the target of over 43 million tons is totally achievable as the cultivated rice plant is grown well.
It is expected that this year Vietnam will export about 7.8 million tons of rice. Strengthening exports of rice at this time will not affect food security, Mr. Cuong emphasized.
However, he is worried about the El Nino phenomenon, which begins to have a strong impact from about October on rice crops, especially from the winter-spring crop of 2023-2024 in the Mekong Delta, but according to weather forecasters, the intensity of El Nino phenomenon in Vietnam is not equal to that of other countries.
