Rice exporters would need certificates from the Ministry of Industry andTrade (MoIT) in order to export as of October 1 this year, according tothe Vietnam Food Association (Vietfood).

Currently, businessé are allowed to export rice without having to adhere to industry regulations.

Vietfood Chairman Truong Thanh Phong said that his association hadasked rice exporters, who met MoIT storage and husking requirements(regulated by Decree ND109/2010/ND-CP issued in November last year), toregister early in order to meet the MoIT deadline.

UnderDecree ND109/2010/ND-CP, rice exporters are required to have a storagecapacity of at least 5,000 tonnes and husking facilities with an outputof at least 10 tonnes per hour.

Storage and huskingfacilities have to be located in cities and provinces home to ricegranaries or international ports to serve rice exports.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD),the country exported 3.5 million tonnes of rice, worth 1.7 billion USD,during the first five months of the year, a decrease of 18.6 percent and13.3 percent in terms of volume and value compared to the same periodlast year.

In the first five months of 2011, Indonesia ,followed by Cuba , Malaysia and Hong Kong, remained Vietnam 'slargest rice importer, accounting for 25.5 percent of total rice exportvolume.

Domestic rice exporters currently face tough challenges in trading in the Korean and Japanese markets.

The Vietnamese Commercial Counselor for the Republic of Korea(RoK), Le An Hai, said that, although in the RoK planned to import347,658 tonnes of rice this year, Vietnamese rice exporters had to gainexperience in exporting rice through electronic auction in order to wincontracts there.

The Deputy General Director of theSouthern Food Corp, Cao Thi Ngoc Hoa, admitted that local exporters werestill unfamiliar with electronic auctions.

AlthoughJapan had planned to import 250,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam ,local rice exporters struggled to win Japanese orders because of poormarket research and knowledge regarding modern market trading methods,said Ho Xuan Hung, MARD deputy minister.

Due to thechallenges local exporters are currently facing, Vietfood forecast thatthe country's rice exports would decrease to 6.5 million tonnes thisyear compared to 6.88 million tonnes last year./.