Vietnam says not in deal with Thailand to jointly raise rice prices

HANOI - Vietnam's agriculture minister said on Thursday (Sept 22) the country is not in a deal with Thailand to jointly raise rice prices.

The two countries' agriculture ministries "have only conducted general cooperation activities", minister Le Minh Hoan said in a statement during a government meeting in Hanoi.

The statement - the Vietnamese government's first on the issue - comes less than a month after a Thai agricultural official said the two countries had agreed to cooperate in raising the price of rice in the global market.

The two countries began talks in May. A Thai spokesperson said then that the objective of raising prices jointly was to increase their leverage in the global market and boost farmers' incomes.

ALSO READ: Hong Kong leader proposes 'reverse quarantine' for China travel

Thailand and Vietnam account for about 10 per cent of global production of rough rice and about 26 per cent of global exports, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Thai exporters have said a price cartel would be infeasible and would make Thailand and Vietnam uncompetitive.

The Vietnam Food Association said late last month the country's rice exports are expected to rise to 6.3 million to 6.5 million tonnes this year from 6.24 million tonnes last year on strong demand.