The Vietnam Food Association (VRA) confirmed Tuesday that local companies have so far signed contracts to export six million tons of rice for 2009, state media reported. The association said the high contracted volume is thanks to rising demand from Africa and Middle East countries, the Saigon Giai Phong newspaper reported. Meanwhile, the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimated that Vietnam exported 5.337 million tons of rice in the first ten months of 2009, earning $2.377 billion. The figures showed increase of 32.8% in volume but decrease of 7.8% in value against the same period of last year. The country is estimated to have shipped 370,000 tons worth $140 million in Oct, up from 341,000 tons worth $126 million a month earlier. In Jan-Sep, Vietnam shipped 1.4 million tons of rice to Africa and 250,000 tons to the Middle East, up 98% and 65% against the same period of last year, respectively.
