This plan will be submitted to the government by MARD, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) and the Vietnam Food Association.

Additional efforts to stabilize the rice market include government approval of the Finance Ministry’s proposal to compile a plan on imposing absolute tax on rice and urea fertilizer exports from June 2008.

The MIT said the rice prices are unlikely to fluctuate from now until the end of the year because Vietnamese farmers are expecting bumper crops this year.

However, distribution can cause a price spike, which necessitates an urgent adjustment of distribution activities, the MIT said.

The recent virtual shortage of rice shows that enterprises are focused mainly on exports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade added. In addition, the current tax policies have failed to encourage enterprises to participate in the domestic market.