Vietnam halts new rice export contracts as it reviews stocks
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 outbreak, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.
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.
Khanh Vu
