Vietnam’s rice exports will likely reach four million MT this year following a major increase in production, the agriculture ministry said June 12.

So far this year, provinces in the Red River Delta (North Vietnam) have produced 6.6 million MT of rice, up about 300,000 MT over initial forecasts. Meanwhile, production in localities in the Mekong Delta (South Vietnam) has hit 6 MT per hectare on average, up nearly 2 quintals per hectares than the last year’s same period.

Therefore, the country’s total rice production this year will likely beat initial forecasts to surge past 35 million MT, the ministry said. Currently, rice is up compared to pricing levels earlier at the beginning of 2005, according to the Ministry of Trade.

A MT of 5% broken price is now traded at US$258-260, while the price of 25% broken rice is US$248. In the first five month of this year, Vietnamese rice producers have signed contracts to export three million MT, in which nearly 2.2 MT are to be delivered in June.