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Rice export to fall down in Q3
Vietnam Food Association (VFA) predicts the country’s rice shipment in the third quarter this year will face more difficulties than last year, with the demand for lower-grade rice for export falling remarkably.
Huynh Minh Hue, the association’s General Secretary, reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade at a meeting in HCM City on Tuesday that the country exported some 2.7 million tons of rice in the January-May period worth a total US$1.2 billion.
June’s rice export is forecasted not to fare much better, he said.
"Given the signed export contracts with clients, we hope to deliver some 700,000 tons in June, so the remaining stockpile will be over one million for the third quarter," said Hue.
As such, "the association expects to achieve total export volume of 3.3 million in the first haft of the year, lower than the country’s total rice shipment of over 3.6 million tons in the year-ago period," he told the ministry’s monthly meeting.
However, Hue said the rice consumption and export during the third quarter would face even more difficulties than the first months this year due to the lower price and much stockpiled rice at domestic enterprises.
He said while the harvest of summer-autumn rice crop would be due in July and August, the stockpile at food traders has swollen to 1.8 million tons.
Hue also predicted the global rice demand would continue to fall down in coming time as most rice importing countries have nearly bought enough for their demand.
The UN Food Agriculture Organization had also predicted the rice output worldwide will increase by 4% during 2010-2011, which will also prompt pressure on the rice price in the coming time. For instance, India is also predicted to have a good rice harvest this year, Hue explained.
To solve these difficulties, Hue suggested related ministries and the Government to continue lending their support so that rice traders and enterprises have more favorable conditions in buying commercial rice from farmers in the coming summer-autumn crop to keep up prices.
The food association’s general secretary also proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade petition the Government to instruct the Ministry of Finance to quickly issue a reference rice price so that traders could step up rice purchase.
VietNamNet, SGT
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