According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam had to lower the export target from more than 6 million tons to 5.7 million tons, however, it is very difficult to reach the target.

This is the first time since 2009 that the country’s rice exports dropped to below 6 million tons.

The average export price in nine months was US$449 per ton, up 4.8% over the same period last year.

China remained the largest importer of Vietnam rice with 35.4% of market shares. Vietnam shipped 1.35 million tons of rice to China to earn US$613.8 million in the first nine months of this year, down 23% in volume and 13.9% in value.

Rice exports to many other markets like the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, the US and Ivory Coast also dipped sharply. However, exports to Ghana saw a strong growth of 36% (making up 11% of the country’s total exports).

Indonesia ranked fourth among importers of Vietnam rice with 8.2% of market shares. Vietnam exported 359,400 tons to the market to get US$142.5 million, up 21.5 times in volume and 22.5% in value against the same period last year.