Guinea to buy 300,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice per year
(VOV) - The Republic of Guinea will annually import 300,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam under a contract lasting until the end of 2015.
The information was released in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and Guinea’s Minister of Trade Mohamed Dorval Doumbouya in Hanoi on March 29.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Minister Vu said the MoU’s signing creates a stable, legal foundation for rice purchases, ensuring food security for Guinea and contributing to the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Rice regularly contributes 60–80 percent of Vietnam’s total export turnover to the Guinean market.
Vietnam’s 2011 US$78 million export turnover to Guinea was a high water mark, subsiding to US$23 million in 2012.
The MoIT has assigned its Department for Africa, West Asia, and South Asia Markets to co-ordinate with relevant ministries on addressing the fall.
Their target is negotiating the direct export of Vietnamese rice to Guinea, thereby improving the international reputation of Vietnam’s rice trademark.
The MoU signing with Guinea is especially significant considering rice exports to Africa that makes up approximately 20 percent of the Vietnamese industry’s total turnover.
Minister Hoang emphasised Vietnam continues to consolidate its position as one of the world’s leading rice exporters and is a valuable contributor to the maintenance of international food security.