Rice prices plummet unexpectedly after Tet

On February 23, Mr. Phan Thanh Bac, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Son Hoa Cooperative (Thoai Son district, An Giang province), said that rice farmers are currently very worried as the rice price has dropped rapidly, by 1,000 VND/kg in just 5 days. Currently, the price of Tho Thom 8 rice is 7,500 VND/kg, and IR50404 rice is 7,300 VND/kg.

“The rice price has dropped too quickly, so traders who cannot negotiate purchasing price with farmers may deposit money to avoid losses, and the common deposit amount is 3 million VND/ha,” said Mr. Bac.

According to Mr. Bac, compared to the same period last year, the rice price is still higher by 1,000 VND/kg, but this year the rice crops have been affected by diseases, and the investment cost is high, so if the rice price continues to decrease, farmers will not make a profit.

“Exporting companies have contracts, but they are very cautious in purchasing while the rice harvest is abundant. This is the reason for the decrease in rice price,” Mr. Bac commented.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of Phuoc Thanh 4 Trading and Production Co., Ltd. (Vinh Long province), predicts that the rice price will stabilize from next week when factories increase purchasing. “If they don’t buy now, they will be late and not have enough supply for the rice export plan in 2024. Moreover, if the purchasing is delayed, the rice quality will not be the best,” Mr. Thanh said.

Mr. Thanh also believes that the companies that won the contracts to supply rice to Indonesia through bidding may make a big profit with the current market price trend.

According to Mr. Thanh, the reason for the decrease in rice prices is that major customers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, etc. have a mentality of waiting for Vietnam’s abundant harvest and lower prices before making purchases.