Vietnamese hunters make up the majority of the total number of licenses granted to rhino hunters in South Africa last year, according to South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Borno Edith Edna Molewa. The minister made the statement during yesterday’s ceremony for her and Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat to sign a cooperation agreement to help curb the rising number of illegally slaughtered rhinos. Although rhino poaching is banned under international conventions, at least 618 rhinos have been poached in South Africa in 2012, nearly double the number of those killed in 2010, according to the latest official figures. However, Molewa said that South Africa still allows legal rhino hunting by granting hunting permits to hunters. Last year, out of the 222 hunting permits granted by South Africa to rhino hunters, 114 went to Vietnamese nationals, the minister said. In 2009 and 2010, a total of 176 hunting permits were granted to Vietnamese rhino hunters in South Africa. It is estimated that Vietnamese hunters have paid more than $22m to hunt rhinos in South Africa since 2003, according to a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The black market price of rhino horn is now in the region of $65,000 (£40,000) per kg. According to the World Wildlife Fund, more than 75% of the world's rhino population is found in South Africa, home to about 85% of Africa's estimated 25,000 rhinos. Conservation groups have welcomed the move as the first official co-operation between Vietnam and South Africa on the issue. The trade in rhino horn has been banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) since 1980.