Vietnam expects first quarter rice exports at 1.59 million tones

Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice exporter after India and Thailand, will export an estimated 1.59 million tonnes of the grain in the first quarter of 2016, up 41.6 percent from a year ago, the Agriculture Ministry reported on Friday. Revenue from the January-March rice shipments, headed mostly for Indonesia, China and the Philippines, will reach an estimated $692 million, up 40.8 percent from the same period last year, the ministry said in its monthly report. 

Vietnamese 5-percent broken rice quotations rose to $385-$390 a tonne, a five-month high, on fears of crop damage caused by dry weather and the intrusion of sea waters in the Mekong Delta food basket, traders said on Friday. 

Coffee Vietnam, the world's largest robusta producer, will export an estimated 160,000 tonnes (2.67 million 60-kg bags) of coffee in March, up 18.8 percent from a year earlier, the government said on Friday, in line with market expectations. 

The shipment brought to 794,300 tonnes the country's coffee exports so far in the 2015/2016 season, an increase of 19.9 percent from the previous season, the General Statistics Office said in a monthly report. Traders had forecast coffee exports in March at 150,000-160,000 tonnes. Vietnam's coffee crop year lasts from October to September. 

Crude Oil Output Down Crude oil output in March is estimated at 1.32 million tonnes (312,000 barrels per day), down 6.4 percent from a year ago, the government said on Friday. 

Actual output in February was revised up to 1.28 million tonnes, from an initial estimate of 1.24 million tonnes, or the same as February last year, the General Statistics Office said in its monthly report. Vietnam, Asia's third-largest holder of crude oil reserves after China and India, produces an average 350,000 bpd on an annual basis, or around 40 percent of that by Indonesia, the sole Opec member in Southeast Asia. 

The country during January-March exported an estimated 1.76 million tonnes of crude oil, or 142,000 barrels per day (bpd) and a fall of 19.8 percent from the same period last year, the government said The following table updates production figures for Vietnam's key energy items this month. 

Rubber Exports Rise Rubber exports in the first quarter rose 20.6 percent from a year ago to an estimated 236,300 tonnes, the government said on Friday. Revenue from the January-March shipment eased 4.9 percent from the same period last year to $266 million, the government's General Statistics Office said in its monthly report, reflecting a slow price recovery in global markets. 

Last year Vietnam's rubber export revenue fell nearly 14 percent from 2014 to $1.54 billion, following excess supply and a slowdown in top rubber importer China. Vietnam is the world's third-largest natural rubber producer after Thailand and Indonesia, while it ranks the fourth-largest in rubber exports after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. 

Khoa Le

Source: Business Recorder