Rice exports had already exceeded last year’s totals of 4.9 million tons worth US$2.2 billion by December 15.Such strong performance is considered a breakthrough for the rice sector, which has seen the fruits of improving value rather than increasing the volume of exports. There have been changes to the structure of exports with a steep decline in exports of average and low graded rice and a surge in exports of high quality rice.At the world rice conference in Macao, China, ST24 rice was ranked second among the three most delicious rice varieties in the world.Vietnamese rice is shipped to 132 markets around the world, with China top among importers, accounting for 40% of total rice export volume, trailed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Ghana, and ASEAN. The export price increased from US$50-100 to more than US$470 per ton, the five-year highest level.  It is forecast that with positive market signals, Vietnam’s export rice volume may hit 6 million tons to be worth US$2.6 billion this year.