The Vietnam Food Association has stated that rice exporters have signed contracts to supply 3,907 million tons of rice in the first half of 2011, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
The association said that until May 5, rice exporters had exported 2.648 million tons of rice, worth US$1.252 billion FOB, an increase of 26 percent in volume and 29 percent in value year-on-year.
In April alone, rice exporters exported 718,718 tons of rice. By the beginning of May, the country had exported 75,280 tons of rice, worth $33.5 million. It is expected to export 3.8 million tons of rice in the first six months of the year.
However, rice prices have recently dropped to VND6,000 per kilogram, a decrease of VND200-300 per kilogram.
The Philippines, one of Vietnam’s largest rice importers, has reduced orders by 20 percent to 200,000 tons. Nevertheless, Vietnamese rice exporters have signed contracts for nearly 300,000 tons of rice with Philippine companies.
