The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang saw a 5-10 percent rise in theprice of rice thanks to national stockpile purchases in accordance withthe Prime Minister’s decision, said Nguyen Van Tham, Deputy Director ofthe provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

Apart from the specific quota assigned to each rice-trading enterpriseunder the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), the province also devisedincentives to encourage traders from other localities to join themovement.

Farmer Ly Van Nhanh from Vi Thanhcity, whose rice was purchased immediately after the harvest, expressedhis happiness over the prompt purchase saying it gave him capital toinvest in his next crop.

Hau Giang’s 2014-15Winter-Spring crops are expected to produce 560,000 tonnes of un-huskedrice, 30,000 tonnes of which is scheduled to be purchased by theprovince.

According to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, the total output of the MekongDelta’s Winter-Spring 2014-2015 crops are expected to reach 11.3 milliontonnes of un-husked rice, equivalent to 4.3 million tonnes ofcommercial rice in addition to the 707,000 tonnes in the rice inventoryfrom last year, bringing the total commercial rice stock to around 5million tonnes.

Rice export is estimated toamount to only 1.4 million tonnes in the first four months of the year,likely resulting in falling domestic rice prices.

The Prime Minister has ordered the Mekong Delta to purchase andstockpile 1 million tonnes of rice in the winter-spring crops to helpkeep prices stable.

TheMekong Delta, the country’s largest rice granary, is comprised of 12provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 squarekilometres and a combined population of 18 million.-VNA