Vietnam Rice Keeps Growing

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|8 September 2006

Local paddy prices have increased for three straight weeks, with strong demand from export markets driving the growth. Rice exporters are now looking at deals that could allow Vietnam to meet its export target in 2006, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS).

Exporters are now looking at opportunities to sell large quantities of rice to their traditional markets where Vietnam has a price advantage. One is Indonesia, where the current need is estimated at around 500,000 metric tons. According to exporters, the Indonesian deal, once achieved, will take almost all of Vietnam’s exportable rice through the end of 2006.