Businesses begun purchasing and stockpiling one million tonnes of rice on Thursday, as directed by the Government, which caused a surge in rice prices after a long period of slump in the Mekong Delta.
Rice prices increased by VND100-300 per kilogram since last weekend in Can Tho City and in Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh and Dong Thap Provinces, where traders have stepped up purchase.
Large volumes of unsold low-quality IR50404 variety is now available at VND5,300-5,400 a kilogram; while long grain rice variety jumped to VND5,800 a kilogram and high quality rice for export to VND6,500-6,800 a kilogram.
Price of IR50404 surged VND6,800 a kilogram and long grain rice to VND7,100-7,350 a kilogram in Cai Rang Market in Can Tho City on Thursday.
Dr. Le Van Banh, Head of the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute said that the delta produced a bumper winter-spring crop of an estimated 11 million tonnes. About one million hectares of 1.55 million hectares has so far been harvested.
The same day, Nguyen Van Binh, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, asked some commercial banks to provide loans at maximum 14 per cent annual interest to businesses to stockpile rice, via the Vietnam Food Association.
These banks include Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, Lien Viet Bank and various State Bank branches in provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta.
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