Hanoi, July 21 - Vietnam has exported 2.54 million tonnes of rice since the start of this year, up 2 percent from the same period last year, leaving less than 1 million tonnes to be shipped through September under a government curb.
Vietnam has capped rice exports from January to September at 3.5 million tonnes, but officials have said shipment by the year-end could hit 4.5 million tonnes, similar to 2007 when Vietnam was the world's third-largest exporter of rice after Thailand and India.
Rice exports during the first 18 days of July totalled 242,700 tonnes, bringing the cumulative shipment so far this year to 2.54 million tonnes, the Vietnam Food Association said in its weekly report.