Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam’s riceexports faced an unpredictable first quarter this year, increasing in January,declining in February and recovering in March, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.

An estimated 524,000 tonnes of rice wereexported in January, with a total value of 249 million USD, reported theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development, representing a 49 percent risein volume and 51.3 percent in value compared to December 2017. After declinesin February, exports rose steeply in March, jumping 93.9 percent in volume and100 percent in value to 338.44 million USD month-on-month. The rice exportprice also surged in March by 3.3 percent to 513.7 USD per tonne.

The country’s overall rice exports in thefirst quarter of this year increased by 15.5 percent compared to the sameperiod in 2017. The average rice export price in the first quarter of thecurrent year rose by 14.2 percent year-on-year to 501 USD per tonne, reported cafef.vn.

The rice export price was higher againstmost export markets during the same period last year, with the highest pricereaching 834.5 USD per tonne for rice exported to Chile, a year-on-yearincrease of 114 percent. However, rice exports to this market fell sharply by95 percent in volume and 90 percent in year-on-year value.

China has remained the largest exportmarket for Vietnamese rice, accounting for 27.7 percent of total volume duringthe first quarter of the current year.

During the first quarter of 2018, 40 percentof Vietnam’s major rice export markets saw a surge in terms of both volume andvalue, while 60 percent saw a reduction in rice exports.

Vietnam’s rice exports to Bangladeshincreased 89 times in volume and 59 times in value. A similar but smaller-scaletrend occurred in rice exports to Turkey, Iraq, Malaysia and France.

However, rice exports to markets such asArgentina, Chile, Ukraine, Angola, Singapore, South Africa and the Netherlandsplunged between 60 to 95 percent in both volume and turnover over the sameperiod last year.

According to experts, Vietnam will havegreater opportunities when the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) comes into effect, helping rice exportersincrease exports to countries that joined the agreement and demand high qualityand food safety standards, such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Vietnam’s structure for exporting riceproducts has shifted to reducing middle and lower quality rice products whileincreasing high quality rice products annually.

As a result, from the end of 2017 to thecurrent period, Vietnam’s rice export prices have increased to 50 USD to 100 USDper tonne against its competitors, such as Thailand, Pakistan and India.-VNA