Vietnam: Rice exporters urged to end new contracts

An official from the Ministry of Trade has urged rice exporters not to sign any more contracts this year to ship rice abroad. The official estimated that, by the year’s half-way point at the end of this month, 2.2 million tonnes of rice will have been exported, accounting for 50 per cent of the year’s plan.

Current contracts for delivery of rice in the latter half of the year would maintain this pace, so the goal of rice growers was to assure stable production and delivery on existing contracts, not to further increase export volumes.

According to Nguyen Dang Chi, deputy head of the Ministry of Trade’s Export Department, land area under rice cultivation was decreasing due to industrialisation and urbanisation. In delta areas in the north, many farmers have given up rice growing altogether in favour of more consistently lucrative crops.