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| Vietnam has benefitted from rice export bans by India and several other rice exporting countries. |
The past week saw the 5% broken rice of Vietnam traded stably at around US$643/tonne, raising the eight-month rice export price average to US$542/tonne, marking a year-on-year rise of 11.5%. This is the highest average export price Vietnam has recorded in history since it started shipping its rice abroad more than 30 years ago.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that rice exports brought in US$3.17 billion in August 2023 alone, an increase of 36.1% over the same period last year.
For more than a month since India and some other countries suspended rice exports, rice prices have increased sharply, greatly impacting the world rice market. The prices of rice have also skyrocketed and continuously broken records in Vietnam, with the 5% broken rice price increasing by an additional US$25/tonne compared to the pre-ban period.
Statistics unveiled by the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) showed that, in the trading session on August 31, the price of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice reached US$643 per tonne, up 20.6% compared to the August 19 price and up 40.3% compared to the figure recorded in January 2023.
The export price of the 25% broken rice has also climbed from US$438/tonne in January to US$628/tonne on August 31, up 43.4%.
Among global rice exporters, Vietnam’s export prices of 5% broken and 25% broken rice remain the highest in the world. Their prices are US$10/tonne and US$63/tonne higher than Thailand’s similar products.
With an estimated rice export volume of 6 - 8 million tonnes a year, Vietnam is currently in the top three rice exporting countries in the world, just after India and Thailand. At some time, Vietnam even rose to second position in the world.
Currently, Vietnamese rice is exported to 150 countries and territories around the world. As of mid-August 2023, the Philippines, China and Indonesia were Vietnam’s three largest rice export markets with market shares of 40.3%, 14% and 12.1% respectively.
Vietnam Airlines announces new HCM City-Perth route
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines recently announced a direct flight service between Ho Chi Minh City and Australia’s Perth city which is due to be put into operation on December 7, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Deputy Premier of Western Australia Rita Saffioti speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) |
Speaking at the ceremony, Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook said securing this new direct flight between Vietnam and Perth opens up an abundance of opportunities between the two destinations and represents a whole new inbound visitor market for Western Australia's industry, tourism and hospitality sectors.
"We have a growing Western Australian-Vietnamese community in our state, which has contributed to our social, economic and cultural development and this announcement will provide better direct connections for the community whether it be for leisure, business or studying opportunities”, he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier and Minister of Tourism of Western Australia Rita Saffioti said Vietnam is becoming an emerging tourism market for Western Australia, with 10,000 visitors travelling into the state for the year up until March 2023, and these new flights will further bolster that with a further 43,000 people able to come in each year.
“With flights starting in December, just in time for the peak summer season, I'm sure this route will be very popular, and helps affirm our status as the Western Gateway to Australia”, she said.
Flights from Ho Chi Minh City No.VN791 will depart at 15:50 every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday and arrive in Perth at 23:05 on the same day (local time). Conversely, flights from Perth No.VN790 will depart at 00:50 every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday and arrive in Ho Chi Minh City at 06:10 the following day. Passengers have been able to purchase tickets for this route since September 1.
With the new route, Vietnam Airlines will operate 23 round-trip flights between Vietnam and Australia each week, averaging 3 flights per day. The total number of routes to Australia operated by Vietnam Airlines has increased to 5, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne; Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney, and Ho Chi Minh City to Perth. All of these routes are served by modern wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787.
Perth is the capital city of Western Australia, one of the most economically significant states in Australia and in the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Currently, there are around 300,000 Vietnamese and those of Vietnamese origin living and working in Perth, the third biggest Australian market of Vietnam.
Vietnam’s National Day commemorated overseas
Activities and meetings have taken place to mark the 78th National Day of Vietnam (September 2) in Cuba, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Switzerland, and Australia, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| At a commemoration ceremony held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba for late President Ho Chi Minh at a park named after him in Havana. (Photo: VNA) |
In Cuba, the Vietnamese Embassy organised a commemoration ceremony for late President Ho Chi Minh at a park named after him in Havana.
At the event, Ambassador Le Thanh Tung highlighted the significant historical importance of September 2, 1945, for the Vietnamese people when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, marking the end of the eight decades of colonial rule and opening a new era in Vietnam's history.
Rolando Julio Rensoli, Vice President of the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists, emphasised that the president’s life and revolutionary thoughts and actions as well as the Vietnamese people’s determination and courage are a source of inspiration for Cuban people.
In the RoK, the Vietnamese national flag was displayed for the first time on Namsan Tower and Seoul City Hall from 7:30pm to 11:00pm on September 2.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung said this event helps deepen the countries’ relationship in the context of their enhanced economic, political, cultural, and diplomatic cooperation.
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| The Vietnamese national flag displayed on Namsan Tower (Photo: VNA) |
In Switzerland, Ambassador Latsamy Keomany, Permanent Representative of Laos to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland on September 1 visited and delivered National Day congratulations to the equivalent Vietnamese permanent mission.
Keomany and Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva, affirmed their commitment to further strengthening the two missions’ teamwork and exerting efforts to consolidate the Vietnam-Laos special friendship, solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation.
Also on the occasion, a delegation of the Lao Embassy in Australia, led by Ambassador Sinchai Manivanh, visited and congratulated the Vietnamese Embassy.
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| Representatives of the Vietnamese and Lao embassies in Australia pose for a group photo on the occasion (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh expressed the desire for both agencies to strengthen their coordination and mutual support, deepening the ties between the two countries’ foreign ministries, contributing to the effective promotion of such collaboration within bilateral, regional and multilateral frameworks./.