The Prime Minister’s Office on February 13 agreed to a proposal onpurchasing 1 million tonnes of rice for stockpile in the context ofabundant supply from the Winter-Spring 2014-2015 crop harvest in theMekong Delta region.
The proposal was put forthduring a conference earlier the same day held by the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Ministry of Finance, the StateBank of Vietnam (SBV), and the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) in Hanoi.
Thepurchase will be made via rice trading enterprises under the VFA fromMarch 1 to April 15, 2015 with the VFA and provincial People’sCommittees responsible for assigning specific quota to each trader. Theenterprises will receive interest subsidy for up to 4 months for bankloans taken to purchase the rice.
According to theMARD’s report, the total output of the Mekong Delta’s Winter-Spring2014-2015 crop is expected to reach 11.3 million tonnes of unhuskedrice, equivalent to 4.3 million tonnes of commercial rice while thereare still around 707,000 tonnes in the rice inventory accumulated fromlast year. This has brought the total commercial rice stock to 5 milliontonnes. Meanwhile, rice export is estimated to amount to only 1.4million tonnes in the first four months of the year, resulting infalling domestic rice price.
According to the VFA GeneralSecretary Huynh Minh Hue, now is the right time to start purchasing ricefor stockpile, which will help keep rice price stable.
The Mekong Delta, the country’s largest rice granary, comprises of 12provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 squarekilometres and a combined population of 18 million.-VNA
The proposal was put forthduring a conference earlier the same day held by the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Ministry of Finance, the StateBank of Vietnam (SBV), and the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) in Hanoi.
Thepurchase will be made via rice trading enterprises under the VFA fromMarch 1 to April 15, 2015 with the VFA and provincial People’sCommittees responsible for assigning specific quota to each trader. Theenterprises will receive interest subsidy for up to 4 months for bankloans taken to purchase the rice.
According to theMARD’s report, the total output of the Mekong Delta’s Winter-Spring2014-2015 crop is expected to reach 11.3 million tonnes of unhuskedrice, equivalent to 4.3 million tonnes of commercial rice while thereare still around 707,000 tonnes in the rice inventory accumulated fromlast year. This has brought the total commercial rice stock to 5 milliontonnes. Meanwhile, rice export is estimated to amount to only 1.4million tonnes in the first four months of the year, resulting infalling domestic rice price.
According to the VFA GeneralSecretary Huynh Minh Hue, now is the right time to start purchasing ricefor stockpile, which will help keep rice price stable.
The Mekong Delta, the country’s largest rice granary, comprises of 12provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 squarekilometres and a combined population of 18 million.-VNA
