No more rice ‘fever’: Agriculture Minister

17:13' 06/05/2008 (GMT+7)
The government will not let a rice fever happen again, confirmed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat on the sideline of the 3rd NA session in Hanoi on May 6.
Rice price storm over
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the government have taken tough measures to control rice prices but the prices haven’t fallen to the previous levels. We are not experiencing a rice shortage but the prices are still increasing. What will the Ministry do?
The rice prices have been influenced by the international market, psychological impacts, and speculation so there was a rice ‘fever’ recently. The government has taken tough measures to force the prices down. However, rice prices in some places are still higher than the previous levels of between VND1,000-3,000, depending on rice quality. We are keeping an eye on the rice market to not let another rice fever happen.
So we have to accept higher prices for rice after the recent rice ‘fever’?
Rice prices are decided by the supply-demand balance in the local and international markets. Our rice market is under the daily influences of the global market so adjustments must follow the market and market tools.
What do you think about imports of low-quality rice from China and Cambodia?
The Ministry (MARD) assigned a working group to go to Lao Cai province to survey the situation and they saw both low-quality and good rice.
Vietnam can export 5 million tonnes of rice but the government has reduced rice exports from 4.5 to 4 million tonnes. Will we change the export target again?
4.5 million tonnes is a forecast figure. In the Red River, the rice crop is good but nearly 400,000ha of rice has been attacked by insects. The Ministry and local governments are trying to deal with this.
Our viewpoint is ensuring food security at home first, then exporting rice, but we have to strictly keep track of rice production and consumption.
The central and northern regions were recently hit by natural calamities and epidemics so we may have a poor crop in these regions. Would the rice output of the Mekong Delta be enough for the whole country?
I confirm that we have enough rice for local consumption and for export in large volumes.
There is information about the establishment of a rice cartel which gathers rice exporting countries, including Vietnam. Could you reveal something about this plan?
I’ve heard that news from the media only. This issue is related to trade. At present MARD and the Ministry of Trade and Industry have nothing to say about this.