The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) announced a plan to purchase 1 million tonnes of milled rice in the Mekong Delta from the Winter-Spring crop of 2014-2015, heard a conference on the temporary storage of rice held in Can Tho City on March 1 under the Prime Minister’s Decision 241.
Specifically, Can Tho City will purchase more than 175,000 tonnes; Ca Mau, 2,400 tonnes; Soc Trang, 26,000 tonnes; Hau Giang, 18,000 tonnes; Vinh Long, 28,000 tonnes; Kien Giang, 79,000 tonnes; Long An, 118,000 tonnes; Ben Tre, 13,000 tonnes; Tra Vinh, 13,000 tonnes; An Giang, 250,000 tonnes; Dong Thap, 155,000 tonnes; Bac Lieu, 8,000 tonnes; and Tien Giang, approximately 83,000 tonnes.
The purchase for temporary storage will be conducted from March 1 to April 15, 2015. 17 commercial banks have been approved by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to finance rice stockpiling. Interest is decided by negotiations between lenders and borrowers, but the limit is capped at 7 percent per annum. The time for disbursement is from March 1 to April 15, 2015, with a maximum maturity of six months. The State Budget will subsidise interest paid to rice stockpiling loans.
This is the 6th year VFA purchases rice for temporary storage. The price is expected to climb from the record low of VND3,400-3,800 per kilogramme in February.
Thanh Yen
Vietnamese
