ST25 rice faces scarcity of supply source in US

A representative of the US’ Great Wealth revealed that a shortage of supply source of ST25 rice has developed after five months of being distributed to consumers throughout the East Coast.

This situation can be attributed to difficulties faced during the transportation process which has caused high costs and late delivery.

The rental cost of one container to transport rice from the nation to the US stands at approximately US$22,000, representing a four-fold increase compared to the period at the end of March.

Currently, it is possible to keep the price of ST25 rice relatively stable over the short term as there remains a stock of ST25 rice available in bonded warehouses of importers.

According to several export enterprises, in order to meet the increasing demand among consumers in the East Coast region for ST25 rice, there should be between six and seven containers of rice per month. However, the supply capacity of export businesses has been reduced by nearly two-third.

Nguyen Manh Hung, director of the Vietnam Trade Center in New York, said the ongoing complicated developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Vietnamese provinces has caused difficulties in the process of harvesting and producing rice.

Furthermore, there remains a shortage of empty containers originating from Asia which has led to high transportation costs emerging, thereby negatively affecting Vietnam's agricultural exports.

According to statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the country exported 7,675 tonnes of rice worth US$5.8 million to the US market during the five months of the year.

However, Vietnamese rice revenue in the fastidious market remains modest compared to regional peers such as India and Thailand.