Due to rice businesses in Mekong Delta having excess stock of materials, the price of paddy is dropping. — VNA Photo

Prices of paddy in the Mekong Delta are dropping slightly due to processing businesses having excess stock.

Nguyen Van Doi, director of Binh Thanh Agriculture Service Co-operative Group in Dong Thap Province, said the price of paddy was VND5,200 – 6,400 (US$0.22 – 0.27) per kilo, a VND200-500 decrease compared to a month ago, when suspension of rice exports started.

Many provinces in the delta are finishing their 2019-2020 winter-spring harvest, with an output of nearly 10.8 million tonnes of paddy. They are currently focusing on 1.5 million hectares of paddy for the summer-autumn season.

Pham Thai Binh, director of Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC in Can Tho, said that due to the suspension of rice exports, many rice businesses in the delta had limited their purchases of paddy because materials in stock were abundant, which has led to a fall in price.

One month from now, provinces will begin their paddy harvest, so authorities need to solve exporting problems, help businesses use up their stock, and unclog the market to ensure decent prices for paddy, he said.

Meanwhile, a representative of Duong Vu Co, Ltd in Long An, which specialises in rice processing, told Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper that sticky rice farmers and traders were waiting for businesses to buy more from them, while businesses themselves are waiting to be able to export these products more easily, as sticky rice grown in the Mekong Delta is typically exported and not sold domestically.

The rice export volume has been reduced to ensure food security during the COVID-19 pandemic. — VNS