Delegate Le Thi Song An (Long An) raised the issue that the high price of rice creates a great advantage for Vietnam's rice export market, bringing joy to people, but due to the continuous increase in rice prices, many localities have a situation of massive rice buying, causing a local imbalance in supply and demand, pushing the price of this commodity up unreasonably. This is a concern for consumers and workers.
" What solutions does the Minister have to ensure both national food security and sustainable rice exports? ", the delegate asked.
Minister Le Minh Hoan mentioned the issue of some countries banning rice exports and asked us to stay calm because every problem has its downsides.
Regarding the fact that rice prices are being pushed up, the Minister analyzed that agricultural product prices are determined by supply and demand. If demand increases but supply does not increase, prices will increase. But in addition to the supply and demand problem, there is also the situation of deliberately pushing up prices, causing great impacts.
“ I hope farmers and businesses respect each other, share with each other about opportunities, and buy and sell not just for immediate benefits ,” said Mr. Hoan.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan answers questions. (Photo: Quochoi.vn).
Delegate Ta Minh Tam (Tien Giang) also asked the Minister to inform about the rice import and export situation of partner countries, related to rice production, ensuring food security of Vietnam.
Minister Le Minh Hoan said that Vietnamese agriculture is associated with "3 changes", so forecasting is difficult to be perfect. These are climate change, market fluctuations and changes in consumption trends. In the context of a world that changes every day, every hour, conflicts, and policies of countries change continuously, forecasting is difficult to be perfect, but requires short-term flexibility.
In such circumstances, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan hopes that expectations for forecasting need to have certain limits. Long-term forecasts need to strive to ensure accuracy, however, short-term forecasts are subject to constant change.
Regarding food security, the Minister said that the Ministry has reported to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister has also issued a telegram directing when food insecurity issues arise, or when some countries ban rice exports, creating opportunities for us.
The Prime Minister's telegram clearly stated that the current priority is to ensure national food security, promote food exports as a responsible commitment to the world on food security issues, while also not causing shock to the domestic market, or affecting domestic consumer prices. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are thoroughly implementing this telegram.
“Regarding food security, some countries have banned rice exports, creating excitement for Vietnam. However, we must worry about food security and not shock the domestic market due to rising rice prices. If we calculate for fun, there are 365 days in a year, and in the Mekong Delta, rice is planted every day, and there is always rice in the fields. We can work with the local authorities to increase the number of crops if necessary,” the Minister emphasized.
Up to now, the Ministry has balanced the harvest output for each crop season. After twenty years of construction, the irrigation system in this area has been effective. We have a digital map to help localities spread out or concentrate crops if necessary, with the conditions allowing. The Minister affirmed that under current conditions, if there are no natural disasters, with the stable climate change situation as in the past few years, we can completely ensure domestic consumption and have 7-8 million tons of rice for export.
PHAM DUY
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