HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese enterprises see a chance to export 20,000 tonnes of rice to Egypt, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Import-Export Department.

The department said that it had received a tender notice from the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade. Under the tender notice, the minimum amount is 20,000 tonnes of rice (± 10 per cent). The type of rice required is short- and medium-grain white rice with 10-12 per cent broken rice.

The rice must be harvested in the last crop of 2018 and meet Egypt’s requirements. The volume of rice will be shipped to Egypt in two phases, from June 1-15 and from June 16-30, 2019.

The time for bidding is March 30 (before 12:00) and the offer is valid until April 30 (18:00 local time).The Import-Export Department said that this is a big opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to boost rice export to this market. The department advised the businesses to pay attention to the quality of rice to create trust among customers.

On the management side, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to focus on trade promotion and seeking new markets. 

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnamese rice shipments have remained in good shape from the beginning of March thanks to the robust demand from Iraq, Malaysia, Cuba and China.

Iraq has already signed a deal to purchase 120,000 tonnes of the grain from Việt Nam. Exporters expect to ship some 300,000 tonnes to the Middle Eastern country in 2019, equal to the same amount from the previous year.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s commodities procurement agency Bernas sealed an agreement with the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood 1) to buy 25,000 tonnes of five per cent broken rice. Bernas has requested express delivery for the order to ensure sufficient rice supply in the country.

Negotiations are underway with importers from the Philippines and China. In addition, the VFA is hoping for a rice export deal with the Republic of Korea via the Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) system. Last year, Viet Nam supplied more than 113,000 tonnes for the East Asian market through the TRQs.

In late 2018, Egypt agreed to import one million tonnes of white rice from Việt Nam in the next three to four months after it reduced the area for the cultivation of the grain due to a lack of water. — VNS