Vietnam Works for National Food Security, Int'l Commitment

HANOI, May 7 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's food policy is formulated to ensure both domestic food security and responsibility to the world community, a government official has stated.

Vietnam's exports of rice and timing of delivery is always considered on the grounds of the nations food security, farmers interest and economic growth, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said while speaking with the Vietnam News Agency on May 6.

Exports have also been planned in regard to combating the food price crisis in the world, he added.

Regarding Thailand's initiative on an Organisation of Rice Export Countries (OREC), the deputy minister said the country will watch with interest the ORECs orientations.

Vietnam wants to see whether ORECs orientations meet the countrys viewpoints on the food issue or not and whether Vietnam can accomplish its duties to the organisation if it becomes an OREC member, he explained.

The General Statistics Office reported that the country shipped abroad close to 1.57 million tonnes of rice for US$775 million in the past four months, which represented a 12 per cent rise in quantity but a 73 per cent surge in value from the same period last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said rice supplies will be abundant in the coming time as crops in both northern and southern rice baskets will be harvested with an estimated output of 15.8 million tonnes of paddy rice, or 300,000 tonnes higher than the last crop.

At present, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, concerned agencies and provinces have intensified their joint monitoring of rice trading activities to help stabilise the price of this sensitive product.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicted that rice exports would reach 3.2 million tonnes by the end of September. Total rice exports for the year are set at 3.5-4 million tonnes.

(VNA)

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