Vietnam rice group proposes export price floor to shield farmers, exporters

HANOI: Vietnam’s Food Association is seeking to introduce minimum prices for rice exports and domestic paddy purchases to protect farmers and exporters from price manipulation, its chairman said on Tuesday.

Vietnam, the world’s third-largest rice exporter, has seen export prices come under pressure in recent months after the Philippines, its biggest overseas market, moved to curb imports.

The association, which includes rice exporters and processors, is proposing a floor export price of USD500 per metric ton, free on board, for fragrant rice, and a minimum domestic purchase price of 7,000 dong (USD0.27) per kg for fresh unhusked paddy, chairman Do Ha Nam said.

“Rice is currently traded above these floor prices, and the move is aimed at keeping prices from being pressured down,” Nam told Reuters. Vietnam’s rice exports in the first seven months of this year rose 0.5percent from a year earlier to 5.53 million metric tons, but export value fell 7.1percent to USD2.62 billion, government data showed.

Nam said the association is working with its members on the final decision, adding that the floor prices would initially be effective until the end of this year.