It is likely that the nation will become the world’s main rice exporter this year, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said on June 15 during the ongoing ninth session of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi
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This comes after the country’s rice exports surged by 31.7% throughout the first two months of the year due to other nations increasing their purchases of grain whilst also boosting storage following the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.
Due to the potential for this sudden increase to lead to a shortage of supplies domestically, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc moved to suspend rice exports until the end of May.
Upon re-evaluating the situation, the Government leader later consented to allow the resumption of rice exports in May while working alongside authorities in 13 localities based in the Mekong Delta.
As a result, the country successfully exported 3.06 million tonnes of rice at a value of US$1.48 billion during the first five months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 11.8% in volume and 25.44% in value, respectively.
“It can therefore be affirmed that we have achieved the goal of sticking to the rice export schedule to ensure absolute national food security in the most complicated period of the the COVID-19 epidemic,” the minister stated.
Source: VOV
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