VietNamNet Bridge – The media last week quoted some ministry leaders boasting that Vietnam may export 10 million tons of rice this year, or twice the figure last year and a record high over the past 20 years.
Nguyen Tho Tri, vice chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, confirmed that the figure is very illogical. The Daily talked with Tho on Tuesday on the country's current rice export situation. Excerpts:
The local media last week said that the country could ship up to 10 million tons of rice this year, an unachievable number over the past 20 years. Can the number be reached this year?
I'd like to assert that the figure is nonsense and it would never happen. Maybe the media were mistaken for 10 million tons of unhusked rice for export and provided the wrong information.
The Government early this year expected to export 4.5 to five million tons but local exporters signed contracts to sell 5.3 million tons till this Monday in which over 4.1 million tons have been shipped. So the Government's target will certainly be reached. The question is how much more the nation can export in the last months of 2009.
Do you think Vietnam can export six million tons of rice this year as some experts have estimated in recent days?
Given the bumper summer-autumn harvest in the Mekong Delta and a huge rice source from Cambodia, it's possible for the country to export six million tons of rice. However, Cambodian rice is substandard product and not suitable for export.
The association earlier thought Cambodia Would export around a million tons into Vietnam this year but the export increased strongly beyond our expectation. Vietnam's rice import volume from Cambodia was over one million tons after only the first six months as Cambodian enterprises pushed up sales to Vietnam instead of Thailand.
No comments:
Post a Comment