Thailand’s 5 percent broken rice now is traded at US$700-720 per tonne on the world’s market, while that of Vietnam costs US$620-630 per tonne.

According to VFA vice president Tran Ba Hoan, the imposition of tariffs on rice exports creates disadvantages for both businesses and farmers.

The VFA has proposed that rice export businesses borrow foreign currencies instead of the domestic currency (VND) to buy rice from farmers. At present, the interest rate for borrowing VND is so high that businesses are worried about purchasing rice for their reserves.

With the current borrowing interest rates, businesses must now pay more than US$12-15 extra for a tonne of rice.