Grain exporters face more stringent conditions

• Greater efforts needed to reach yearly rice export target

• RoK, Japan import Vietnamese rice again

The Decree 109 on rice export businesses will require enterprises to meet criteria such as having a warehouse with capacity of at least 5,000 tonnes of rice in stock, at least one rice husking workshop with a minimum capacity of processing 10 tonnes of rice per hour and export volume of at least 10,000 tonnes of rice each year. 

Vietnam currently has more than 150 rice exporters, with either one-year or five-year export licences.

With 50 out of the 150 rice exporters expected to fail to meet the new criteria, the ministry has asked the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), rice export management teams and provincial authorities to ensure solutions for enterprises that lose export licences. 

VFA Chairman Truong Thanh Phong said rice traders should not export rice directly and instead can sell their rice to export firms.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said balancing supply and demand in rice exports is an important factor behind the success of these enterprises.

They should not produce too much rice and build many storehouses only to be left with this stock if they are unable to export it, he said. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported rice exports fell by both volume and export value, seeing a year-on-year decline of 2 percent in volume to 4.6 million tonnes and a decline of 8.7 percent in value to US$2.1 billion. The average export price also dropped by 6.6 percent to US$458 per tonne.

The VFA recommended that Vietnam focus on higher quality rice, as cheap Vietnamese rice is failing to compete with low-priced rice from India and Myanmar.