The figure means rice is now the fourth largest earner among Vietnamese exports to the Southeast Asian country, after phones and phone parts; computers, electronic products and parts; and steel.
The impressive surge was due to a falling supply from other rice producing countries while Vietnam was stepping up the export of jasmine and glutinous rice, Vietnamese commercial counsellor Pham Quoc Anh was quoted as saying.
He added that it is important to build Vietnamese rice brands since most of the rice sold in Malaysia bears the stamps of Thai, Japanese or local brands.
The counsellor elaborated that the Vietnamese trade mission in Malaysia has been working hard to support Vietnamese companies such as Hapro and Loc Troi to look for local partners in distributing Vietnamese rice.
Specifically, the trade mission assisted Hapro in cooperating with the Malaysian company ZNTEC to promote the Hapro-branded rice sold exclusively in Sabab and Sarawak.
At the same time, work is under way to help Loc Troi build a jasmine rice brand in Malaysia.
With these specific steps along with the efforts of Vietnamese businesses and support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Anh believes that in the time ahead Vietnamese rice will gain a firm footing in the Malaysian market.
