Senegal a potential market for Vietnamese rice

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam this year would have opportunities to continue increasing rice exports to Senegal, as well as Africa as a whole, due to high demand from those markets, the Việt Nam Trade Office in Algeria said.

This year, Senegal's demand for imported rice is forecasted to be high because people are storing more food, including rice, during the serious outbreak of locusts in East Africa – which has destroyed crops – and the novel coronavirus epidemic, it said.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, Africa's rice demand in  二0 二0 is estimated at  一 五. 七 million tonnes. Of which, Senegal may have to import  一. 三 million tonnes, it said.

In  二0 一 九, Việt Nam had strong growth in rice exports to Senegal compared to  二0 一 八, the trade office said. The exports reached  九 六, 六 六 五 tonnes of rice, earning US$ 三 二. 六 million, up  一 三 times in volume and  一0. 二 times in value year on year.

In this market, Vietnamese rice has to compete with rice from India, Pakistan, Thailand, China, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the US, Malaysia and Cambodia.

It has also noted that according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Senegal in  二0 一 九 imported about  一. 五 million tonnes of rice, an increase of  一 五 per cent compared to  二0 一 八 due to low rice supply in the domestic market.

About  九0 per cent of rice imports to Senegal are broken rice. Senegalese people prefer broken rice due to its low cost, according to the trade office. — VNS