Agriculture prices to remain stable

Agriculture prices to remain stable

The prices fetched by leading agricultural exports were unlikely to change significantly this year, forecast industry insiders.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecast stable or even declining rice prices due to an increasingly competitive global market. Rice last year fetched an average export price of $457 per tonne, the ministry said.

Among other major cash crops, only pepper was expected to see export prices increase significantly this year. A representative from the Viet Nam Pepper Association, Tran Duc Tung, forecast that export prices would be higher than last year due to declining global supplies.

Pepper exports last year fetched a whopping $6,700 per tonne on average, nearly $1,000 higher than in the previous year, Tung noted. He therefore recommended that exporters sign contracts with early delivery dates to avoid losses in case of price surges after the contracts are signed.

Viet Nam Coffee and Cacao Association general secretary Nguyen Viet Vinh anticipated that the export price for coffee would fluctuate around US$2,000 per tonne this year, down modestly from last year's average of $2,137. Coffee exports last year rose about 40 per cent over the prior year to 1.76 million tonnes, while the value of exports increased by 36 per cent to $3.75 billion, Vinh said.

The Viet Nam Cashew Association also forecast that cashew prices would inch up to about $7,000 per tonne, as stricter food safety regulations imposed by the US, EU, Australia and China could have an impact on global demand.

The head of the export-import division of the Viet Nam Rubber Association, Dinh Van Tien, also predicted that rubber prices would remain unchanged at roughly $3,000 per tonne this year. However, he expected that rubber exports to China, Viet Nam's largest rubber market, would be easier as China planned to cut import taxes on several varieties of rubber in order to boost import volume.

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