In the first four months of 2024, Vietnam earned 2.08 billion USD from shipping 3.23 million tons of rice abroad. Reports at a recent conference on rice exports in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho show that due to El Nino and climate change impact, the global rice output in the 2023-2024 crop is forecast to drop to nearly 518 million tons, while the consumption demand is 525 million tons. This means that the world will face a shortage of about 7 million tons of the grain this year. This is an opportunity for rice exporters, including Vietnam. The country can supply 8.13 million tons to the world this year, while ensuring domestic food security at the same time. The total volume of rice for export in the Mekong Delta, the country's biggest production hub of the grain, in 2024 is estimated to reach about 7.6 million tons./.