There is a possibility that this year’s rice exports will reach 7.5 million tons, a rise of 300,000 tons compared to last year, Truong Thanh Phong, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, said.

Speaking at the conference on developing paddy and building rice brands in the Mekong Delta in Soc Trang last week, Phong said the nation as of now has signed contracts to export roughly 7.2 million tons, equivalent to the total volume the country exported last year.

“Local rice inventories now are rather large, at more than 1.7 million tons, so we are able to meet export contracts as well as local demand,” Phong asserted.

Regarding the food price development in the near future, Phong said the global situation is unpredictable due to natural disasters.

“In India, as food prices in the nation are too high, the Government is launching the sale of 10 million tons of rice and wheat in an effort to lower the prices,” Phong noted. He predicted India might stop exporting white rice as their crop’s output volume will drop by 6-7% this year compared to 2011.

If the prediction becomes true, it will create a fantastic opportunity for Vietnamese rice exporters, especially shipments of low-grade types. Moreover, Russia, ranked second in the world after the U.S. in terms of grains exports, is facing a poor harvest slipping by half from the previous crop.

“It is likely that food prices will become higher in the near future but the forecast is also not certain,” Phong told the conference.

The Saigon Times Daily