The total volume of exported rice from Vietnam this year is estimated to reach 7.5 million tonnes, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
The association has forecast that 2.2 million tonnes will be shipped abroad in the third quarter and 1.8 million in the fourth quarter.
The VFA presented the figures during a July 5 conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho .
It said that based on stockpiles and the output of the recent crops, the total volume of rice waiting to be sold is 5.3 million tonnes.
It was also reported that the country’s accumulative amount of exported rice in the first six months of this years is nearly 3.5 million tonnes, worth 1.5 billion USD, representing a year-on-year rise of 2.55 percent in volume, but a 2.04 percent decline in value due to falling prices.
The total rice inventory is now over 1.65 million tonnes, the VFA added.
Obvious changes were seen in the rice export market during the January-June period, with a decrease in orders from traditional markets. Asia was still the largest destination for Vietnamese rice, accounting for 61.95 percent (down 6.6 percent), followed by Africa with 23.74 percent (up 1.32 percent).
In the first six months of this year, rice export was higher than recorded in the same period from 2012, but still lower than expected due to the market underperforming in June.
Consecutive drops in price also affected the first half of this year, with value decreasing from 410 USD per tonne in January to 365 USD per tonne now.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has also began implementing a plan set by the Prime Minister to hoard up to one million tonnes of rice for this year, the association confirmed.-VNA