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Export firms resume buying rice
Rice export companies in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have resumed buying rice from farmers following the Government’s announcement that it would scrap provincial rice export quotas to free up the market.
Several traders have recently said they would buy 1,400 tonnes of unhusked rice a day.
Nguyen Anh Phong, deputy director of Tien Giang Food Company, said his company would buy more rice, even though its warehouses were full.
Companies in An Giang, Dong Thap and Hau Giang provinces are also buying grain from farmers. Previously, rice export companies had to wait for the Viet Nam Food Association to allocate rice export quotas, then sign export contracts and collect rice.
Companies with low quotas cannot take the initiative to expand markets and seek partners, traders have said.
Many rice exporters said quotas had prevented them from exporting hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rice a year.
The Government’s announcement would help companies seek more contracts, said Ha Van Phong, deputy chairman of Kien Giang Province’s People’s Committee.
Le Van Banh, head of the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, said the decision had rescued millions of farmers in the Delta.
Dao Van Um, a farmer in An Giang Province, said last year he incurred a major loss because of more than 40 tonnes of rice inventory.
"We’re very happy to hear the Government’s decision because it will help us feel assured about cultivating rice," Um said in an interview.
Rice prices in the Mekong Delta region recently increased by VND800-1,000 per kilo, and are now between VND8,000 – 9,000 per kilo.
VietNamNet
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