Vietnam's Mekong delta sees sharp rise in rice exports

HO CHI MINH CITY - High-quality rice exports from Vietnam's southern Mekong delta sharply increased in the first 10 months of this year, up 44 percent year on year, according to the local Southwest Steering Committee.

Local VietnamNet news portal reported on Tuesday, quoting data from the steering committee as saying that the region exported over 2.7 million tons of high-quality rice, worth 2.32 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 52 percent of the total rice export volume during the reviewed period.

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), the average prices of Vietnamese rice exports in the first 10 months has declined, however, thanks to the increasing output of high-quality paddy harvested from the region, the export revenues have been maintained.

The average export price reached 455.26 U.S. dollars per ton in the first nine months, up 3.6 percent year on year.

Rice supplies for exports from the Mekong delta are abundant.

Total paddy output from the recent winter-spring, summer-autumn and autumn-winter crops reached 24.3 million tons, of which, over 70 percent are high-quality, fragrant paddy that meet criteria for exports.

In addition, the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute in recent years has produced dozens of cross-bred rice strains with high quality and output, supporting the farmers in their intensive rice farming in specific locations.

Vietnam's Mekong delta comprises 12 provinces and Can Tho City.

Currently, about four million hectares of land in the region are used for rice cultivation during three crops per year.

Generally, more than 50 percent of the country's paddy and 90 percent of the nation's rice exports come from the delta.