The Mekong Delta provinces earned USD229 million from export of 516,000 tonnes of rice in January, up 3.2 percent over the same period last year, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region.

In 2015, regional provinces are planned to ship abroad 6.2 million tonnes of rice, worth USD2.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent.

The Mekong Delta provinces export 516,000 tonnes of rice in January (Photo: VNA)

The localities will boost trade promotion and marketing activities with a view to seeking more customers in the European Union, North America, the Middle East, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

They continue persifying types of rice for exports.

To ensure sufficient rice for exports, the provinces will put an additional 4.2 million hectares of land in rice cultivation while selecting more high-yield varieties suitable to soil and ecology in each locality.

In 2014, Mekong Delta provinces exported 6 million tonnes of rice, raking in USD2.8 billion. Of the amount, 80 percent was consumed in Asia and Africa, 17 percent in the EU and North America and the remaining in the Middle East and Oceania./.

VNF/VNA