Rice traders vow to keep rice prices stable

Domestic food traders and retailers have pledged to stabilize rice prices in the country in the rest of the year although a price fever has been said to hit the rice market, with prices in the country’s biggest granary to surge 25% within a month.

Rice prices in HCMC have also inched up by 10% to 20% in recent days.

Co.opMark supermarket chains on Tuesday issued an announcement reassuring consumers that it would maintain rice prices unchanged till the end of this year. The retailer has a large rice stock and has contracted with 10 large suppliers to meet customer demands.

Huynh Cong Thanh, general director of the Food Co. of HCMC (Foocosa), said the enterprise is stocking rice to stabilize the city’s market on the forthcoming traditional Tet holiday. Foocosa has set aside 2,500 tons for the long holiday, besides 14,000 tons currently in its warehouse, Thanh said.

Saigon Trading Group (Satra) is also stocking 1,500 tons of rice and sticky rice out of the total reserve of 9,000 tons of the city. A price fever is hard to occur given the large rice stock, said Satra’s deputy general director Tran Thanh Nam.

HCMC demands around 60,000 tons of rice per year, said the city’s Department of Industry and Trade. After the rice price fever hit the country last April, the department suggested local authorities to reserve 15,000 tons regularly but the policy was not passed.

Rumors on the price fever spread as rice prices in the country have increased strongly over the past few days. Rice traders in Phu Yen Province bought dry unhusked rice at VND5,000 per kilo on Wednesday, increasing by 25% against a month earlier.

Rice prices in the Mekong Delta have also surged sharply, said the Vietnam Food Association (VFA). Unhusked rice there has doubled from early this year to hit the year’s high of VND6,000 per kilo.

Rice exporters have bought 5% broken rice at around VND9,000-9,200 per kilo, raising the minimum export price to US$500 per ton. Rice prices in HCMC have also inched up by 10% to 20% in recent days.

The rumors spread quickly after Vietnam won a contract to export 300,000 tons of 25% broken rice to the Philippines early this month. The export price is US$625 each ton, the highest rate in this year.

Rice prices have increased in line with the global trend but the nation still keeps a large rice stock, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien. Meanwhile, enterprises explained that rice prices fluctuated just like other commodities in the country and would not cause a price fever.

The Government early this week asked the ministry to balance rice supply and demand and ensure food security in the country, especially in Hanoi and HCMC. VFA was also asked to regulate rice supplies to meet the food demand in each locality.

Exporters have a rice stockpile of around 1.4 million tons, including one million tons for the local market, according to VFA. The nation will yield another one million tons from the forthcoming autumn-winter crop.

Vietnam, the second largest rice exporter in the world, witnessed a rice fever last year, when the global price hit US$1,000 a ton. The problem much confused the local Government and enterprises.

VietNamNet/SGT

Tags: Vietnam agriculture, Vietnam rice price