HANOI – Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company will export 1,600 tonnes of high-value fragrant rice to Singapore and Malaysia, Vietnam's Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (MARD) said yesterday.
A total of 450 tonnes of Jasmine 85 rice will be shipped to the Singaporean market at US$680 (RM2,749) per tonne, while 1,150 tonnes of Huong Lai fragrant rice will be delivered to customers in Malaysia at US$750 per tonne, the Vietnam news agency (VNA) reported.
These are very high prices, general-director of Trung An JSC Pham Thai Binh said, adding that the company is also preparing to export more than 2,000 tonnes of rice to Germany.
Binh said despite difficulties from the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam's rice industry made breakthroughs last year, especially in value. Rice export value increased by more than 9% in 2020, although the volume did not rise as compared with 2019.
In the early days of 2021, a number of member companies of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), including Trung An JSC, have signed many export contracts, especially with European partners and those from member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that Vietnam signed in November last year, he said.
According to MARD, Malaysia and Singapore are among the 10 largest importers of Vietnamese rice.
MARD deputy minister Le Quoc Doanh said that in 2020, rice was the bright spot among agricultural exports. He added the ministry always supports businesses and localities in building production linkage chains to create quality and safe products.
VFA vice-president and general secretary Nguyen Trung Kien said that Vietnam exported 6.15 million tonnes of rice last year, earning an estimated US$3 billion, although the volume decreased by about 3.5%. – Bernama, January 14, 2021
