CANTHO – Vietnam’s rice export prices have soared to new records in the wake of India’s ban on exports of white rice, now surpassing US$550 per ton.
On July 26, Vietnam’s rice export prices rose by US$5 per ton for both 5% and 25% broken rice varieties day-on-day, reaching US$548-552 per ton and US$528-532 per ton, respectively, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
The sharp price increase is evident when comparing current prices to those on July 20, the day when India implemented the export ban. Since then, Vietnamese rice prices have risen by an additional US$15 per ton for both the 5% and 25% broken rice varieties, resulting in a surge of US$75 in comparison to the prices recorded at the beginning of the year.
Vietnam’s average rice export price for the first six months of 2023 reached US$539 per ton, a 10.2% increase over the same period in the previous year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. These prices are the highest since July 2021.
Given the competition with Thailand, Vietnam’s current price for the 5% broken rice is US$40 per ton lower, while it is about US$6 per ton higher for the 25% broken rice.
The ban has redirected rice-importing countries to seek alternative suppliers, including those in Vietnam, leading to a sharp increase in prices, Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC, told The Saigon Times.
Domestic rice prices have also risen significantly. In the past four days, prices have increased by VND100-300 per kilogram for various rice varieties.
Data from the VFA showed that Vietnam’s rice exports have performed exceptionally well, with nearly 4.5 million tons of rice worth US$2.39 billion having been exported as of July 15. This reflects a 17.48% increase in volume and a 28.04% increase in value compared to the same period in 2022.
Nguyen Van Thanh, board chairman of Phuoc Thanh IV Trading – Production Company, told The Saigon Times that Vietnamese rice exports could reach 6.3-6.5 million tons for the whole year, potentially exceeding this estimate if export supply remains robust.
