Vietnams rice exports up in both volume and value in first eight months

Vietnam exported 4.53 million tonnes of rice in the first eight months of 2018, bringing in US$2.29 billion, a rise of 10.5% in volume and 26.5% in value, according to the General Department of Customs.

Vietnam earns US$2.29 billion from rice exports in the first eight months of 2018. (Photo: Bao Dau tu).

In August rice shipments saw a strong increase against previous months, with export prices averaging at US$489.1 per tonne.

The average price over the January-August period reached US$504.4 per tonne, up 14.6% compared with the same period of last year.

China was the largest buyer of Vietnamese rice, accounting for nearly one-quarter of Vietnam’s rice shipments. The average price of rice exports to the world’s second-largest economy was US$521.1 per tonne.

At the same time, rice shipments to Indonesia fell sharply in August but the aggregate figures for the first eight months of 2018 were still strong, up more than 50 times in volume and 67 times in value.

The Philippines was the third largest market for Vietnamese rice with strong growth in August. The country currently needs an additional 500,000-800,000 tonnes until the end of the year to fill its depleted inventory and to stabilize domestic rice prices.