HANOI: Vietnam's rice exports are expected to rise to 6.3 million-6.5 million tonnes this year from 6.24 million tonnes last year on strong demand, the chairman of the country's food association said on Tuesday.
"So far this year, exports have risen strongly, and we expect to see the momentum continue for the rest of the year," Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chair of Vietnam Food Association, told Reuters.
Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice exporter, reported a 19% year-on-year increase in its rice shipments in the first eight months this year, to 4.7 million tonnes.
Export prices of Vietnamese rice are also expected to rise during the coming months on higher production cost and because adverse weather conditions in several rice-growing countries hurt production, Nam said.
"Production cost, especially fertiliser prices, has recently risen sharply amid global inflationary pressure," he said. "We are seeing severe droughts and floods in several countries, such as China, India and in some European countries, and this may affect global food supplies."
The Philippines will remain Vietnam's largest rice export market this year, he said.
Two sources said on Monday Bangladesh is finalising deals with Vietnam and India to import a total of 330,000 tonnes of rice for delivery within the next three months.
