Vietnamese rice price increases in foreign markets in H1

HANOI, July 8 -- The prices of Vietnamese rice increased strongly in many foreign markets in the first half of this year, Vietnam News Agency cited statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs on Monday.

The country's average rice export price went up by over 18 percent over the same period last year.

The grain was sold at 959 U.S. dollars per ton in Brunei, 868 dollars in the United States, 857 dollars in the Netherlands, 847 dollars in Ukraine, 836 dollars in Iraq, and 831 dollars in Turkey, said the report.

Vietnam exported 4.68 million tons of rice in the first six months of this year, earning 2.98 billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Most notably, in the first six months, Vietnam's rice exports to France increased dramatically to 18,200 tons worth 19.1 million dollars.

The Southeast Asian country has targeted exporting over 8 million tons of rice this year.