On April 6, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh sent the proposal to the prime minister after gathering opinions from relevant ministries and agencies relating to rice export management.
400 tonnes of rice to be exported this month
According to the minister, rice exports need to be continued but strictly controlled based on monthly quota and the national food security amid the Covid-19 pandemic and drought and saline intrusion.
Anh added that the rice export in April should be 400,000 tonnes and it is necessary to increase the national rice reserves to 700,000 tonnes from 30,000 tonnes.
The government leader advocated the ministry’s recommendation but it is essential to ensure the rice supply for domestic consumption in any case.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also been assigned to submit the rice export plan in May to the prime minister before April 25 and worked out a scenario on rice export management in case Covid-19 continues until the end of this year.
Earlier, the government announced on March 25 to ban signing new rice export contracts to ensure sufficient domestic supplies to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak.