Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ducer groups and 54 cooperatives for high-quality rice. Total contracted area
was 36,882 hectares with a guaranteed output of 110,000 tons, equivalent to
about 50 percent of the total rice output. Within this contract, 23 producer
groups and 1 cooperative were exclusively contracted to produce special fra-
grant rice
Khaw Dawk Maly
(KDM 105) in an area of 1,241 hectares with prom-
ised output of 4,962 tons. This initiative will certainly improve the supply chain
and can potentially increase export revenue, but will do little in the way of price
stabilization, as the vast majority of the households, particularly the poor, are
left out of the chain.
International Markets
There is no doubt that market liberalization has contributed positively to the
Vietnamese economy. Even though the country was in chronic deficit until
1989, it exported as much as 4.5 million tons of rice in 1999, accounting for
about a quarter of total rice traded in the international markets that year. De-
spite significant decline in international prices, Vietnam sold about 3.5 million
tons on average during the subsequent years (Figure 8.3). Not only did the vol-
ume increase, but the country was gradually becoming a price setter of grain in
the international market. For instance, prior to 1998, Thai rice fetched US$70-
FIGURE 8.3
Trends in quantity and value of rice exports in Vietnam, 1976-2002
Quantity (thousands of tons)
Value (US$ millions)
5,000
1,200
Quantity
Value
4,000
1,000
3,000
800
2,000
600
1,000
400
0
200
-1,000
0
