China buys one-third of Vietnam’s commercial rice

China buys one-third of Vietnam’s commercial rice

China has bought around one-third of Vietnam’s 6.3 million tons of export rice via official channel, not counting the amount via border trade, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The ministry said that Vietnam shipped 441,000 tons of rice abroad in November, taking the total shipment this year to date to 6.29 million tons worth US$2.78 billion, falling by 16% and 19% year on year, respectively. China alone bought US$800 million worth of rice from Vietnam in the 11-month period, according to the ministry.

The agriculture ministry made clear that the value of rice exports to China this year excluded the border-trade amount as formal statistics are not available.

In early November, Vietnam Food Association estimated that the amount of rice exported to China via border trade might amount to 1.5 million tons this year. Authorities have warned traders of risks involving border trades, citing settlement risks and problems related to tax refunds.

Apart from rice, China is also a major buyer of other farm produce items from Vietnam, especially rubber, cashew and vegetables.

Vietnam’s total export sales of farm, fishery and forestry products this year to date have amounted to US$25.25 billion, rising 1.5% year on year.

vietnamnet