Vietnam Q1 rice exports seen down 39pc y/y

HANOI: Vietnam's rice exports in the first quarter of 2012 are expected to fall 39 percent from a year ago to around 1.1 million tonnes due to fierce competition from Indian and other Asian grains in its major markets, a state-run newspaper said on Monday.

Exporters of 25 percent broken grain have been losing market share in Africa to India, Myanmar and Pakistan, the Vietnam Economic Times quoted Truong Thanh Phong, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), as saying.

Members of the association, which oversees the industry, also face difficulties signing contracts to ship rice to Indonesia and Bangladesh, Phong was cited as saying.

Asian markets account for 67 percent of Vietnam's rice exports while African importers take the rest.

Vietnam lowered floor prices for its rice exports early this month, but traders said that even these lower prices were still not competitive compared to those offered by Indian exporters.

In late 2011, exporters signed contracts to sell around 850,000 tonnes of rice this year, but the grain will be shipped throughout 2012, which contributed to the lower exports in the first quarter, the newspaper said.

Vietnam will raise exports to China to make up for the falling volumes in its major markets, Phong, the VFA chairman, was quoted as saying.

Vietnam plans to export 7 million tonnes of rice this year, after a record 7.1 million tonnes in 2011, a state-run newspaper said, citing annual targets from the Industry and Trade Ministry.