Surging rice prices disrupt supply chain: association

After several countries limited rice exports at the end of last month, Vietnam's rice prices have risen to new peaks of between $620 and $660 per ton.

But the climbing prices have caused disruptions in the industry, as traders wait for prices to rise further and this break existing contracts with exporters. So, exporters are struggling to accumulate enough to ship, said the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) in a recent report.

There are 200 Vietnamese rice traders approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and they are required to report their signed contracts to the government regularly.

But they have not been consistent in filing their reports and this has created a lack of data needed for authorities to manage the market, VFA said.

The association proposed that the government issue more policies to better monitor and manage rice exports and rice inventory among traders and ensure fair competition.

India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, banned the export of non-Basmati white rice at the end of July, making Vietnamese rice more expensive.

Vietnam was the third largest rice exporter globally last year behind India and Thailand.

Vietnam’s rice exports in the January-August period are estimated to have risen about 23% from a year earlier to 5.9 million metric tons, according to government data.