Vietnam association stockpiles one million tonnes of rice

VVietnam Food Association (VFA) businesses have purchased one million tonnes of rice to be kept in reserve, said Pham Van Bay, VFA Vice Chairman. The association is planning to buy another half a million tonnes of rice in the second phase. In early March, the VFA asked 30 of its member businesses to buy one million tonnes of rice for the same purpose, with prices no less than VND4000 per kg at the factory. Rice businesses in the Mekong Delta said that rice prices in the region are declining slightly by VND100 per kg to VND4,100-4,400 per kg. Businesses have exported about 1.1 million tonnes of rice so far. The VFA added that Iraq is likely to sign a new contract to import rice from Vietnam while rice prices on the African market have shown signs of increasing.