Viet Nam earned around 875 million USD from shipping nearly 2.1 million tonnes of rice abroad in the first 5 months of 2015, posting year-on-year declines of 10.7% in volume and 13.6% in value, according to the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA).

Rice bags are loaded onto a ship for shipment (Photo: VNA)

In May alone, the volume of rice exports posted a monthly decrease of 19%, mainly as a result of pressure to sell inventory and low-quality rice stemming from Thailand and India.

According to the VFA, the reasons are China’s adjustments to its import quota policies and limited transactions, even across the border, along with selling rice in stock of Thailand and India.

Asia remains the biggest rice importer continent from Viet Nam with 1.45 million tonnes, accounting for over 69 % of the rice export value, followed by Africa and the Americas.

(Source: VNA)