UPDATE 2-Vietnam halts new rice export contracts as it reviews stocks

(Updates to add graphic, ministry comment)
By Khanh Vu
HANOI, March 25 (Reuters) - Vietnam will not sign any new
rice export contracts until March 28 at the earliest as it
checks whether it has sufficient domestic supplies to cope
during the coronavirus outbreak, the government said in a
statement on Wednesday.
Vietnam's rice exports rose 4.2% last year to 6.37 million
tonnes, making it the third largest exporter in the world after
India and Thailand. The largest buyers of Vietnam's rice include
the Philippines, China and countries in Africa.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told the ministries of
trade, finance and agriculture to review the country's rice
stocks and submit a report on supplies and exports by Saturday,
according to the statement.
"While waiting for the report from the working group, the
signing of all new rice export contracts will be suspended, and
those contracts that have already been signed will be dealt with
after the report is available," the government said.
The ban would be in force until after the report was
submitted on March 28, it said.
"This move by Vietnam is causing a lot of attention in the
international market, a European rice trader said. "If food
exporting countries start limiting supplies to secure their own
food security this would be of very great concern." In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of
Industry and Trade said Vietnam's rice exports in the first two
months of 2020 rose 31.7% from a year earlier to 928,798 tonnes.
"If exports keep rising at this pace, Vietnam would face the
risk of shortages for domestic consumption," it said.
The ministry said it would hold a meeting with the country's
key rice producers and exporters on Thursday to assess domestic
supplies and export contracts.
Vietnam has reported 134 cases of the coronavirus but no
deaths, according to the health ministry. More than 1,500
suspected cases are in quarantine and being monitored.
The prime minister this month vowed to protect food security
during the outbreak, state media reported.
On Tuesday, a government food official told Reuters that
Vietnam would continue rice exports, despite reports by state
media and customs officials that a government ban on exports had
been in effect. The mixed messages have created confusion in the domestic
market, rice traders said.
"We've been worried and confused by the signals from the
authorities and have stopped purchasing rice from farmers from
Tuesday," a trader based in the Mekong Delta province of An
Giang said.

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GRAPHIC-Asia rice export prices surge as coronavirus sparks
hoarding and panic buying https://reut.rs/33Hz2Uq
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