HCMC – Vietnam’s rice exports to Indonesia rocketed in the first four months of the year, according to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Customs data showed that Vietnam shipped US$149 million worth of rice to Indonesia in the period, well above the US$58 million recorded in the same period last year

The sharp increase in rice imports from Vietnam made Indonesia the third largest buyer of Vietnamese rice after the Philippines and China.

The Philippines bought US$647.5 million worth of Vietnamese rice from January to April, surging 53.4% year-on-year.

China also ramped up rice imports from Vietnam in the period, which surged 88.2% against last year at US$292.5 million.

Vietnam exported nearly 2.9 million tons of rice valued at US$1.53 billion between January and April, soaring 40.7% in volume and 51.6% in value year-on-year.

In April alone, Vietnam shipped some 1.1 million tons of rice abroad, bringing in US$573.9 million.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that the average January-April rice price increased by 7.6% versus the year-ago period at US$526 per ton.