Viet Nam may emerge as the world’s biggest rice exporter in 2020, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh told legislators Monday. 

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh speaks at the ongoing
working session of the National Assembly on June 15, 2020

The Government imposed rice export quota of 400,000 tons in April in a bid to ensure food security amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic was put under control while the domestic supply increased, the Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to remove the quota for rice exports as of May 1.

Thanks to the quota removal, the country’s rice exports rose by 11.8%, or 3.06 million tons in the first five months this year. Total revenues increased by 25.44% to US$1.48 billion.

Viet Nam planned to export 6-7 million tons of rice this year compared with roughly 6.1 million tons in 2019, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development./.