Vietnmese Rice price climbs as State firms begin buying

Rice prices have risen by 2-4 percent in many provinces after it
instructed State-owned food companies to buy 500,000 tons of rice, the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said October 4.

Rice was sold at around VND5,300 to VND6,100 a kilo, it said.

The ministry's order to purchase rice was meant to keep the grain's
prices high to benefit farmers.

However, the prices of agricultural inputs are falling -- urea
fertilizer, for instance, is down 6.74 percent to VND6,000 a kilogram in
Can Tho, 6 percent cheaper at VND6,100 in Danang, and 4.5 percent
cheaper at VND6,500 in Hanoi.