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Rice exports fell sharply in the first month of the year, but the domestic rice market was still quite active just after the Lunar New Year holiday. Many companies are stepping up buying to fulfill signed orders.
The domestic rice market remains active despite a drop in exports in the first month of the year. Photo: Trung Chanh
Speaking to KTSG Online, Ms. Ngo Ngoc Yen, director of Hoa Phat Tan Chau Import and Export Co., Ltd., said that although the price of rice has calmed down again, compared to the time before the Lunar New Year, the sales price is even higher.
Fresh IR 50404 rice harvested by combine harvesters is currently purchased by field traders for approximately 6,600-6,700 VND/kg; OM 380 rice (a slightly higher quality rice than IR 50404-PV rice) costs VND 6,700-6,750/kg; Dai Thom 8 rice costs 7,000-7,050 VND/kg and ST25 rice is about 7,600 VND/kg. Meanwhile, raw rice of the variety IR 50404 costs about 10,200 VND/kg; from OM 18 and Dai Thom 8 about 11,000 VND/kg.
Compared to the time before the Lunar New Year, rice in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) is currently priced about 300-500 VND/kg higher, but about 50-100 VND/kg lower than 2 days ago.
Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, a rice farmer in Thanh Loc Township, Cai Lay County, Tien Giang Province, said that compared to when he received the down payment from the trader, he currently has a loss of VND 350/kg, which is a loss of 7,000 VND/bushel of rice.
With 1.5 hectares of OM 380 seed production area, the yield is estimated to be around 9 tons/ha in this winter-spring harvest. Mr. Cuong calculates that selling low-priced rice alone has cost him more than VND 47 million.
The fact that the farmers get bail first, but the rice is harvested later and delivered to the traders, as in the case of Mr. Cuong, is very common in the Mekong Delta. As a result, many farmers also fell into the same loss situation.
However, farmers who have received a deposit to sell rice to traders within a week are very excited as they can sell at a high price. Nguyen Van Hung, a resident of Phu Cuong Township, Cai Lay District, Tien Giang Province, said: “In the past two years, this is the first time I have sold rice for such a high price,” he said. However, earnings are also expected to increase slightly compared to before as input costs are all high
Exports decreased, why is the market still active?
The report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that Vietnam’s rice exports in the first month of 2023 are estimated to be about 400,000 tons worth about USD 203 million, down nearly 21% in volume and about 17.4 % in value over the same period last year.
Although rice exports fell in the first month of the year, the domestic rice market is still quite active.
Speaking to KTSG Online, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Khoa, director of Phuoc Thanh II Co., Ltd., said that as banks’ interest rates were adjusted to rise sharply, all companies “reduced” their inventories late last year. . warehouse for debt repayment.
On the other hand, after the Lunar New Year holidays, companies should focus on returning orders signed with partners from the old year, especially contracts with the Philippines and Indonesia. Domestic rice prices were active at the beginning of the year.
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Khoa, the winter-spring rice crop of 2022-2023 has not yet been fully harvested, and the limited supply of goods on the market is also a synergistic factor that causes the price of rice to rise in the domestic market. increase.
The report of the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that by the end of January 2023, the winter-spring harvest 2022-2023, the Mekong Delta region has sown 1.47 million hectares out of a total of 1 million hectares . 51 million hectares planned. In which the harvested area is about 202,000 hectares, which is only about 14% of the sown area.
If rice prices remain at current levels until the end of the season, farmers in the Mekong Delta will have a successful harvest. However, according to insider forecasts, rice prices are likely to drop significantly as the 2022-2023 winter-spring harvest enters the harvest period.
On the export aspect, companies are also now adjusting their sales prices downwards, about USD 5/tonne compared to the price of early February 2023, to USD 468-472/tonne for export. for 5% broken rice and 448-452 USD/tonne for 25% broken rice.
@Thesaigontimes
