Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association Huynh The Nang said the rice sector will face more difficulties this year.
In 2016, China was the biggest rice importer of Vietnam by purchasing 1.74 million tonnes of rice worth 782.3 million USD, representing a respective yearly decline of 17.5 percent and 8.6 percent.
Other major rice importers in ASEAN such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia also witnessed strong reduction of 64.1 percent, 45.5 percent and 51.8 percent, respectively.
Rice exports decline in January
Vietnam exported 325,000 tonnes of rice worth 136 million USD in January, down 32 percent in volume and 35.1 percent in value compared to the same month in 2016.