As farmers in the Mekong Delta region are currently harvesting their summer-autumn crops, market prices for rice varieties such as IR 50404, Dai Thom 8 (long grain fragrant rice), OM 5451, and OM 18 have been on the rise. These varieties are fetching between VND7,500 and VND8,300 (US$0.3-0.34) per kilogram, representing a VND300-500 increase compared to early 2024.
Remarkably, ST25 rice, predominantly cultivated in the Mekong Delta provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, and Kien Giang, is commanding a price of VND13,000 ($0.53) per kilogram, a significant VND3,000 ($0.12) increase year-on-year. This variety has the highest market price in the Mekong Delta. With yields averaging around 7 tonnes per hectare, many farmers cultivating ST25 are realizing profits of VND50 million ($2.025) per hectare.
To date, farmers in the Mekong Delta have harvested approximately 1.2 million hectares out of the total 1.47 million hectares of summer-autumn rice. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first eight months of 2024, rice exports reached 6.16 million tonnes, valued at nearly $3.85 billion, representing increases of 5.9 percent in volume and 21.7 percent in value compared to the same period last year.
Domestic rice prices have shown steady growth as enterprises actively procure rice to fulfill export orders, especially as the summer-autumn harvest nears completion.
Furthermore, the global food supply has been disrupted due to production challenges in many importing countries, leading to increased demand for Vietnamese rice. Additionally, droughts and natural disasters in Thailand and India have reduced global rice supply. Consequently, Vietnam's rice exports are expected to experience robust growth in the latter half of 2024.
