Vietnam to sell 240,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia

HANOI - Vietnam has reached an agreement to sell 240,000 tonnes of 5-per cent broken rice to Malaysia, with loading to last eight months starting in April, a state-run newspaper reported on Monday.

Under the government-to-government deal, shipment will last through November, the Vietnam Economic Times newspaper said, without giving any price.

Officials at the Vietnam Food Association, which oversees the country's rice exports, were not immediately available for comment.

Malaysia ranked as Vietnam's third-biggest rice buyer in 2014 after China and the Philippines.

Traders in Ho Chi Minh City said Vietnamese rice export prices, which have fallen to multi-month lows on thin-buying, will not be affected by the deal given its long loading duration.