The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday that the country exported a total of 2.76 million tons of rice worth around $1.18 billion in the first five months.

Apart from the Philippines, Vietnam's exports to its main markets like China, Indonesia and Bangladesh fell during this period.

Vietnam exported only 239,000 tons of rice to these three markets, compared to 1.44 million tons in the same period last year, a six-fold drop.

This situation is expected to drag on until the end of the year, as a result of various reasons including high levels of rice inventory from China’s last harvest, Indonesia having general elections this year, and the recovery of post-flood production in Bangladesh, the ministry said.

Export prices of rice also fell sharply this year, averaging only $427.5 per ton, a decrease of $77 per ton over last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam is the third biggest rice exporter in the world behind India and Thailand, selling the grain to some 150 countries and territories.

In 2018, rice exports grew 5.1 percent in volume (6.1 million tons) and 16.3 percent ($3.08 billion) in value year-on-year.