Vietnam suspends rice exports

HANOI: Vietnam will not sign any new rice export contracts until March 28 at the earliest as it checks whether it has sufficient domestic supplies to cope during the coronavirus pandemic, the government said in a statement yesterday.

Vietnam’s rice exports rose 4.2% last year to 6.37 million tonnes, making it the third largest exporter in the world after India and Thailand. The largest buyers of Vietnam’s rice include the Philippines, China and countries in Africa.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told the ministries of trade, finance and agriculture to review the country’s rice stocks and submit a report on supplies and exports by Saturday, according to the statement.

“While waiting for the report from the working group, the signing of all new rice export contracts will be suspended, and those contracts that have already been signed will be dealt with after the report is available,” the government said.

The ban would be in force until after the report was submitted on March 28, it said.

“This move by Vietnam is causing a lot of attention in the international market, a European rice trader said. “If food exporting countries start limiting supplies to secure their own food security this would be of very great concern.”

In a separate statement yesterday, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Vietnam’s rice exports in the first two months of 2020 rose 31.7% from a year earlier to 928,798 tonnes.

“If exports keep rising at this pace, Vietnam would face the risk of shortages for domestic consumption,” it said.

The ministry said it would hold a meeting with the country’s key rice producers and exporters today to assess domestic supplies and export contracts.