date:Mar 18, 2014
Vietnam has approved a rice stockpiling plan under which local firms will get soft loans to buy paddy from now to the end of April, a move that will tighten supplies in the world's No 2 exporter of the grain and help boost prices. Vietnam has been struggling to sell rice this year as Thailand offloads a part of its high stocks that have been built up due to a controversial state intervention scheme there. This has led to a shift in demand from African buyers, who are key importers of Vietnamese