Consider stockpiling 1 million tons of rice from the summer-autumn crop.

On the afternoon of May 29th, at a meeting with relevant ministries and agencies, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai directed that a plan be considered to temporarily stockpile 1 million tons of rice from the 2013 summer-autumn crop. This would create favorable conditions for farmers and traders to proactively manage the harvesting and sale of commercial rice, contributing to curbing the current complex situation of falling prices.

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The government's continued consideration of the temporary rice stockpiling policy is clearly aimed at supporting agriculture and guiding farmers' product prices, not at guaranteeing purchase prices. This has led to some unreasonable and conflicting opinions regarding the results of the rice stockpiling program in the past.

With the procurement mechanism as planned for the recent winter-spring crop, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Vietnam Food Association to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committees of the Mekong Delta provinces to allocate quotas for temporary rice and paddy procurement for the summer-autumn crop, taking into account the commercial rice production of each locality. Relevant ministries and agencies are to organize guidance, inspection, and supervision of the temporary storage implementation, ensuring compliance with regulations and achieving effectiveness.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of May 8th, the Mekong Delta region had sown 1.135 million hectares for the summer-autumn crop, with an expected yield of over 9 million tons of rice for this season. In the Mekong Delta provinces, rice prices are currently trending downwards, by about 100-150 VND/kg compared to last week. The price of dried paddy rice at the field currently ranges from 4,850-4,950 VND/kg (regular rice) and 5,100-5,200 VND/kg (long-grain rice).

Previously, the Ministry of Finance had announced the average production cost of rice in the summer-autumn crop in the region as 4,142 VND/kg, which translates to a target price of 5,383 VND/kg. Therefore, the aforementioned market price is currently lower than the target price, and this serves as a basis for the Government to consider and officially issue a decision on temporary stockpiling in the near future.

Meanwhile, according to the general report, the rice export situation is facing many difficulties and the forecast remains extremely complex and unpredictable. Compared to the same period last year, the export price of rice in the first quarter has decreased by over 40 USD/ton and continues to fall. Traders involved in temporary stockpiling are facing difficulties due to slow consumption and risk incurring losses.

Therefore, at the meeting, the consensus was that maintaining stable rice prices while export prices decreased and ensuring efficient production for farmers was a success of the temporary storage policy. It was affirmed that the announced temporary storage policy for the Winter-Spring crop was appropriate to the overall situation, creating conditions for farmers and traders to proactively plan the harvesting and consumption of rice, contributing to curbing price declines.

During the period of temporary stockpiling, rice prices on the market increased compared to before the stockpiling period, even exceeding the target price, which is beneficial for rice farmers, ensuring farmers make a profit and maintaining stability in the long term. This helps maintain export price levels, limits price manipulation and predatory pricing in the context of fierce competition in the rice export market.

According to (Chinhphu.vn) - LT