HANOI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's rice exports in the first quarter this year rose to the highest level in the past 12 years as the country managed to boost export revenues of high-quality and high-price rice which has amounted to half of its total export volume, local media VnEconomy reported on Monday.

Vietnam has targeted rice earnings this year to grow 16 percent to 4 billion U.S. dollars from shipments of between 6.5 and 7 million tons, half of which come from exports of premium-grade rice, said Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

The Southeast Asian country posted a 19.3 percent year-on-year increase in its rice shipments in the January-March period to 1.8 million tons, while it recorded a surge of 30.2 percent in export earnings to 952 million dollars in the period, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

The average export price in the first three months is estimated at 531 dollars per ton, up 9.2 percent from a year before, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Philippines was Vietnam's largest rice export market in the first quarter, accounting for 43.3 percent of its total rice shipments, followed by China and Indonesia.

Since buyers from China made more purchases of premium-quality rice, the average export price to this market rose 18 percent from a year earlier to 589 dollars per ton, according to the food association.

Exports to Indonesia, Vietnam's third largest rice market in the first quarter, surged three times from a year earlier to 136 million dollars, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Indonesia's new plan to import 2 million tons of rice to shore up its national stockpile to 2.4 million tons in an attempt to ensure food supply and support poor people would give Vietnam's exports a boost, said the VFA chairman.

Global demand for rice reserves is forecast to rise in the short term due to ongoing economic and political uncertainty, hence Vietnam's rice markets are likely to pick up further, said Nguyen Phuc Nam, deputy head of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the trade ministry.

Despite favorable market conditions, rice producers are finding it difficult to gain access to bank loans amid slowing economic growth and tight credit as a result of recent financial turmoil in the world.

The central bank has stepped in, asking banks to simplify administrative formalities, shorten credit appraisal procedures, and diversify loan products, so that rice farmers and traders can gain funds for producing, buying, processing and storing rice for export.

Vietnam's rice export grew 15.7 percent to 7.2 million tons in 2022, posting a 7 percent growth in earnings to almost 3.5 billion dollars, according to the GSO. Enditem

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