The average price of Vietnamese rice in 2020 rose by 13% from a year ago to US$496 per tonne, said Nguyen Quoc Toan, head of the department of agricultural processing and market development at the agriculture ministry.
In early December last year, the price of Vietnamese 5% broken rice was between US$493-497 per tonne, higher than Thai and Indian rice by US$20 and US$120, respectively.
Toan said such good prices are evidence that the quality of Vietnamese rice has been enhanced.
The proportion of high-quality rice also increased substantially in 2020, with white rice accounting for 32.5% of total rice exports, fragrant rice 32.9%, glutinous rice 29.6% and Japonica rice 4.8%.
Deputy minister of agriculture Le Quoc Doanh said Vietnam’s rice sector is going in the right direction by focusing on improving the quality, reducing the quantity, producing rice to market demand, and promoting brand building.
Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong also recognised rice export as a bright spot in agricultural exports, given that Vietnam suffered from back-to-back natural disasters in 2020 as well as the negative impacts of Covid-19 on the global economy.
He stated that in 2021 the agriculture ministry will work closely with the ministries and agencies concerned to promote Vietnamese rice abroad and provide maximum support for rice exporters with the goal of maintaining the sector’s growth and strengthening the position of Vietnamese rice in the international market.
