Vietnam’s rice industry enjoys favourable factors, such as weather and geographical advantage, says an expert. — Reuters
HANOI: The Vietnamese rice industry is set to benefit from high demand and prices this year, with lower input costs leading to expanded profit margins for rice businesses, Vietnam News Agency reports.
According to an expert from Vietnam Securities Co Ltd Bank for Foreign Trade (VCBS), the country’s rice industry enjoys favourable factors, such as weather and geographical advantage.
The prolonged drought in China has caused a decrease in the country’s output for the 2021-2022 crop, leading to an anticipated six million tonne increase in rice imports for the 2022-23 crop.
Meanwhile, inventories in the Philippines have declined due to typhoons and high fertiliser costs, leading to increased rice imports.
The cultivated area in India has also dropped due to drought, making the decrease in supply in India the main factor for the forecast of the global rice deficit.
Despite these challenges, the hydrological situation in Vietnam has been stable, with heavy rain in the past year and a neutral outlook in the first half of this year, leading to sound output.
VCBS highly appreciates the possibility that Vietnam will benefit from the upward trend in rice prices due to limited supply and the shift in demand from India this year.
The total commodity of rice is expected to reach 4.1 billion tonnes in the first six months of this year, with rice exports reaching 390,000 tonnes in January. — Viet Nam News/ANN
