During the
period, stiff competition from Thailand and India as well as lowered
demand from major importers Indonesia and the Philippines led to only
339,000 tonnes of rice shipped abroad, an annual drop of 73 percent.
The plunging rice trade is likely to be
improved by the end of 2015 thanks to global market recovery as a result
of positive impacts of government export-stimulation policies and
several free trade agreements, said Nguyen Anh Duong, an expert from the
Central Institute for Economics Management (CIEM).
To fulfil the 2015 export target, local business communities and
associations ought to enhance promotion programmes and place additional
emphasis on connectivity among domestic production, material import and
market expansion, Duong noted.
Exporters
across the southern hub need to focus on boosting price competitiveness,
quality assurance and production capacity.
Pho
Nam Phuong, Head of the Ho Chi Minh Investment and Trade Promotion
Centre (ITPC), revealed that her agency is working to strengthen
partnership in traditional markets like the US and EU and in potential
markets such as Russia, Indonesia and India.
The ITPC is also making efforts to forge business links in Africa and western and southern Asia./.
