Direct rice trade between Africa and Vietnam needed

Rice exporters in the Western and Central regions of Africa have a great demand for Vietnamese rice, and a wish to set up long-term cooperative ties with their Vietnamese partners, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on November 30th.

Nations in both the African regions have a very large demand for low-priced Vietnamese rice, including rice with a 25%, or higher, ratio of broken rice.

Ms Macaria Barai at the Guinea Bissau Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry told the Vietnamese ministry that her country woud like to buy 50% of its total need for imported rice from Viet Nam, as Vietnamese rice has both competitive prices and good quality.

At present, Guinea Bissau imports some 140,000 tonnes of rice every year, most of it currently from Thailand and India.

The Western and Central Africa regions together consume one fourth of all the Vietnamese rice exported to Africa. Yet, profits for Vietnamese companies are still not high because most of business deals are carried out via intermediaries.

The ministry said that it would work to create more favorable platforms for direct trade between Vietnamese rice exporters and African importers, as well as to resolve difficulties in transportation, settlements and help African importers set up representative offices in Viet Nam.