Hanoi (VNA) – With bumper crops in both the northern and southern granaries, the country expects to reap a total output of 37 million tonnes of paddy this year, 1 million tonnes higher than 2007, said the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

VFA said the higher paddy yield is likely to prompt the government to increase the yearly export target to 4.5 million tonnes, equivalent to last year’s figure, adding that local exporters had signed contracts with foreign partners to sold 3.5 million tonnes by the end of September.

Experts forecast the world rice market will become more stable in the year-end months following strong fluctuations during the first half, as major rice producers have started to harvest crops with yields higher than last year and importers have nearly fulfilled their yearly import targets.

Rice prices on the world market have reduced between 35-42 percent from the record high in late May. Vietnam’s 5 percent broken rice slipped to 600 USD per tonne from 1,050 USD per tonne.

However, pundits said the downward trend will stop by the year-end and rice prices will rebound due to lower stockpiles compared with previous years after the recent global food crisis.

Shrinking rice cultivation acreages and higher costs for rice-paddy production are also factors that push up rice prices in the world, they said, pointing to a fact that the current prices almost double the figures of 320-340 USD per tonne a year ago./.

Vietnam exports 3.38 million tonnes of rice