Can Tho (VNA) – With positive results recorded sofar, Vietnam can exceed its target of 7.6 million tonnes in rice export volume setfor 2024, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, said at aconference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 26.

He said that the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) projectes the country’s rice export volume at more than 4.3million tonnes in the first half of 2024. However, in April alone, the figureis likely to top 3 million tonnes in the first four months of thisyear, and the result in the first six months of this year can surpass the MARD’sprojection, he held.

Le Thanh Hoa, Vice Director of the MARD’s Department ofQuality, Processing, and Market Development, said due to El Nino phenomenon andclimate change impact, the global rice output in the 2023-2024 crop isforecast to drop to nearly 518 million tonnes, while the consumption demand is 525million tonnes, which means the world will face a shortage of about 7 milliontonnes of the grain this year.

This is a good opportunity for rice exporters, includingVietnam, he said, adding that the country can supply 8.13 million tonnes to the world this year while ensuring domestic food security at the sametime.

The total volume of rice for export in the Mekong Delta, the country's biggest production hub of the grain, in 2024 is estimated to reach about 7.6million tonnes, the official noted.

However, Hoa held that Vietnam still faces many challenges in rice export thisyear, including the dependence on certain traditional markets and a lack ofadequate efforts in market development.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Hang askedrelevant agencies and localities as well as the Vietnam Food Association tojoin hands with rice export businesses in ensuring national food security inall circumstances, stabilising the domestic market and promoting exports at thesame time.

She stressed the need to foster coordination between businesses and ricefarmers to ensure stable supply and quality of rice, affirming the trademark ofVietnamese rice in the world market.

The official also underlined the need for the active negotiationand signing of agreements on plant quarantine and technical regulations on paddyand rice quality to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese rice exporting enterprises.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, Vietnam shippedabroad 2.18 million tonnes of rice for 1.43 billion USD, up 17.6% in volume and45.5% in value thanks to 23.6% rise in price over the same period last year./.