Government confirms 1 million tonnes of rice for local market and export

To ensure the production of rice for export, the government, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, will increase the quantity of white rice production to 35 per cent of the total rice production. This will be in line with the government’s policy to promote the planting of sticky rice that has the potential for growth in most regions. Sticky rice, including black rice, kay noi rice and thadokkham, phonngarm, home and thasano rice, are high in demand. The ministry will also produce rice following good agriculture practices (GAP) to access regional and international markets, especially the Chinese market.

According to the strategic ministry plan, it is expected to encourage farmers to produce paddy rice to the tune of 4.7 million tonnes by 2020 or expand production by 5 per cent. Of this, the land under rice cultivation will expand by about 2 per cent, and the yield will be 3-3.5 tonnes a hectare. However, production is expected to be less than the target due to natural calamities with rice exports stable at 1 million tonne a year.

The government believes that rice markets in Laos may face stronger fluctuations next year with harvests unlikely to meet targets this year. The production of rice is expected to be around 3.5 million tonnes –down from 4.4 million tonnes. The ministry plans to encourage farmers to supply 2.5 million tonnes, of which 2.1 million will be for local consumption and 400,000 tonnes set aside as a stockpile. Around 100,000 tonnes of rice seeds and 500,00-600,000 tonnes of rice will be used for processing.

To encourage rice production in Laos and access to regional and international markets, the government will focus on clean and good agriculture practices, along with the adoption of green policies to ensure quality. The country set a target of US$45.6 million for rice exports last year, but could only achieve US$31.4 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. This year, the government is projecting to earn only US$25.2 million from rice exports, a significant decline compared to last year’s figure. China, Vietnam and Thailand are important markets for the Lao-grown staple.

Information source: Vientiane Times.