Workers stack bags of rice. Việt Nam was looking for measures to expand rice exports to China amid a fall in export volume to the market since 2018. — Photo baodauthau.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam was looking for measures to expand rice exports to China after witnessing a fall in export volume to the market since 2018.

Đỗ Hà Nam, deputy chairman of the Việt Nam Food Association, said at a conference about rice trade between Việt Nam and China in HCM City on Monday that Vietnamese exporters were struggling to access the Chinese market despite China's massive demand for rice.

Since 2018, Việt Nam’s rice exports to China have dropped to 1.3 million tonnes, down from a record high of three million tonnes.

Nam attributed the decline to changes in China’s import policies which required firms to be licensed to export to the market.

“We need to be regularly updated with market information to have measures to boost rice exports to China,” Nam said.

He said he hoped that more firms would be licensed to export rice to China in the near future, adding that many firms could now meet China’s requirements.

At the moment, only 22 Vietnamese firms are licensed to sell rice in China.

Phạm Thái Bình, general director of Trung An Hi-tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, said  Vietnamese export firms need to be provided with more detailed information about China’s rice import demand – including consumption volume and rice types – to craft appropriate production plans.

The conference was held within the framework of a four-day exchange programme between Việt Nam and China focusing on rice trade, jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s food associations as more than a dozen Chinese rice import firms visit Việt Nam until today.

Trần Quốc Toản, deputy director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the programme was a significant opportunity for Vietnamese firms to learn about the Chinese market’s demand for rice, network with Chinese importers and reduce intermediary stages in the export process.

Việt Nam’s rice exports in the January to April period were estimated at 2.03 million tonnes, worth US$866 million, down by 7.9 per cent in volume and 21.7 per cent in value over the same period last year.

The average rice export price dropped by $72.7 per tonne to $430.1.

Việt Nam’s rice exports to China in the period reached only 43,300 tonnes, worth $20.8 million, representing drops of 89.5 per cent in volume and 90.4 per cent in value. — VNS