Rice exports face obstacles

Amid challenges in rice exports, authorities still propose to store rice from the upcoming crop to stabilise the price of rice and ensure profits for rice growers. But will this decision make the Vietnamese rice export better off? We will find out in the following story.

The price after harvest for the IR50404 rice variety is at 4700 VND or 0.2 USD per kilogram, slightly higher than its price before the Lunar New Year. This is mainly due to export firms buying to deliver their 300 thousand tonnes rice export contract with the Phillipines. For this reason, the price of rice is expected to fall after the contract is fulfilled, especially as the price is predicted to hit bottom in 2017.

The Vietnam food association has recently announced that Vietnam's rice stockpile has hiked this year, up 1 million tonnes compared to last year. Such higher inventories will create more pressure for exporters while the world price market is also unfavourable for Vietnamese rice. Many experts predicted that the Vietnam's rice exports will continue to face many difficulties in the first half of this year.