He dismissed concerns that Vietnam could follow India to impose curbs on rice exports.
“Our domestic market consumes about 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the total rice that we produce,” he said. “So, export is a must.”
Rice is the most consumed staple food in the country, with each Vietnamese eating about 90 kilograms a year, according to official estimates.
The nation has exported nearly 4.9 million tonnes of rice in the first seven months of 2023, an almost 20 per cent jump year-on-year in volume. Export revenue totalled US$2.58 billion, up close to 30 per cent from last year.
MORE RICE BEING GROWN
More rice will soon be grown in the fields of the Mekong Delta region, with authorities aiming to ramp up rice production by about 200,000 tonnes this year.
The nation, which is the world’s third largest supplier of the staple, plans to export 7.8 million tonnes of rice in 2023, a 10 per cent increase from last year.