Vietnam exported 6.16 million tons of rice in the first eight months of this year, earning nearly $3.85 billion, the Dau Tu (Investment) online newspaper has reported, quoting the figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The figures represent a year-on-year increase of 5.9% in volume and 21.7% in value.

The average rice export price in the period was estimated at $625 per ton, surging 14.8% compared to the same period last year.

In the domestic market, prices of many types of rice in the Mekong Delta region remained stable last week compared to the previous week.

For retail rice, regular rice is priced from VND15,000 ($0.62) to VND16,000 per kg, while long-grain fragrant rice is about VND20,000 ($0.80) to VND21,000 per kg.

Vietnam is expected to export 7.6-8 million tons of rice this year, worth over $5 billion.