HCMC – Vietnam’s rice export prices have surged to US$395-400 (around VND10.4 million) per ton for 5% broken rice as domestic supply tightens and global markets grow increasingly concerned about the potential impact of adverse weather on upcoming crops.
The price increase emerged in mid-May as the harvest season in the Mekong Delta entered its final stage, leaving limited rice supply available in the market. Besides seasonal factors, traders are closely watching forecasts of El Nino, which is expected to disrupt the next planting cycle scheduled to begin in late July or early August.
Domestic rice prices showed mixed movements but generally maintained an upward trend. Prices of first-grade brown rice posted the sharpest increase, rising by VND479 per kilogram to an average of VND9,675 per kilogram. First-grade milled white rice also gained VND345 per kilogram to around VND11,375 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, in An Giang Province, prices of high-quality rice varieties such as OM 18 and Dai Thom 8 remained stable at relatively high levels of VND6,200-6,300 per kilogram.
Temporary supply shortages combined with cautious sentiment over global supply prospects have pushed Vietnamese rice prices up by around US$20 per ton compared with two weeks earlier.
The developments are seen as positive signals for Vietnam’s agricultural exports. However, experts warned that businesses should closely monitor technical trade barriers and increasingly volatile weather conditions to prepare suitable procurement and inventory plans for export orders in the final months of the year.
