Hanoi, July 1 - Vietnam could export 6 million tonnes of rice this year, a rise of 21.5 percent from last year, with exporters already having contracted to sell more than 5 million tonnes, a state-run newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Exporters signed deals for 800,000 tonnes in June alone, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee-run Saigon Giai Phong daily quoted a Vietnam Food Association report as saying.
The shipment forecast for 2009 far exceeds the government's initial target for the whole year of 5 million tonnes and is also well above a U.S. Department of Agriculture projection of 5.2 million tonnes.
Officials at the food association could not be reached for comment.
The association's report said 6 million tonnes would be a record, while it was difficult to forecast the export value "due to many price changes in the world market".
Vietnam exported an estimated 3.8 million tonnes of rice in the first half of this year, a surge of 56.2 percent from the same period last year, when worries about food security prompted the government to curb exports. [ID:nHAN507940]
The Philippines accounts for the bulk of the rice exports so far this year from Vietnam, the world's second-largest exporter after Thailand.