Vietnam rice exporters reap higher profit on increased price

Vietnamese rice exporters enjoyed good growth in profit in the first quarter of 2022 on higher prices and good orders.

Rice export reached nearly 1.5 million tons in the period, with a turnover of over $715 million, up 24% in volume and 10.5% in value year-on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported.

Vietnam’s 5% broken rice remained stable at $393 per ton on the global market in January and February. Meanwhile, Thailand's dropped $4 to $405, MARD data shows. On average, Vietnam's 5% broken rice was priced at $414 per ton in March, while the figure for Thailand was $408-412.

Trung An High-Tech Agriculture JSC (Trung An Rice) reported a net revenue of VND958 billion ($41.55 million) in Q1, up 119%, and after tax profit of $1.17 million, eight times higher year-on-year, according to the firm’s audited consolidated financial report.

An Giang Import-Export JSC (Angimex) earned $44.24 million in net revenue in the period, a 175% rise. Consolidated profit after tax was $434,000, 2.8 times higher year-on-year. Southern Food Corporation ended nine straight quarters of losses with an after-tax profit of $20,900.

Pham Thai Binh, General Director of Trung An Rice, told The Investor that his firm is promoting exports to the EU to take advantage of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Binh added that rice export turnover in 2022 may grow but not much, because the supply chain is still affected by Covid-19. "The logistics system is facing many challenges."

Do Thanh Nhan, Chairman of Agrimex, said his firm recently signed a contract to supply three million tons of rice to Sierra Leone within three years and would also transfer a large sample field model to businesses in this country. Angimex is preparing to open a representative office in the Philippines, a large rice import market of Vietnam.

According to Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam's rice exports to the EU are expected to increase further this year, especially as the quality of Vietnamese rice has been improved. However, rice exporters need to better take advantage of the EVFTA.

Vietnamese rice has entered difficult markets like Japan, South Korea and the EU. Traditional markets like the Philippines, China and Africa have also boosted imports since the beginning of the year.

The country's rice exports in 2022 is expected to meet the target of 6 - 6.2 million tons, the association stated.