Vietnam’s rice exports faced an unpredictable first quarter this year, increasing in January, declining in February and recovering in March. An estimated 524,000 tonnes of rice were exported in January, with a total value of 249 million USD, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, representing a 49 percent rise in volume and 51.3 percent in value compared to December 2017. After declines in February, exports rose steeply in March, jumping 93.9 percent in volume and 100 percent in value to 338.44 million USD month-on-month. The rice export price also surged in March by 3.3 percent to 513.7 USD per tonne. The country’s overall rice exports in the first quarter of this year increased by 15.5 percent compared to the same period in 2017. The average rice export price in the first quarter of the current year rose by 14.2 percent year-on-year to 501 USD per tonne.