The PM also requested rice exporters accelerate their rice delivery to finish the shipment of 3.6 million tonnes under contracts signed in August and September. The government leader said taxes on rice export contracts have not been applied.

The PM was chairing a meeting in Hanoi on August 7 to discuss measures to boost the sale of rice from the summer-autumn crop in Mekong delta provinces.
The event was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, the Ministers of Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam and various government officials.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Bank (Agribank) chief has decided to disburse another VND10 trillion in loans to support farm produce enterprises and farmers.
The funds will provide businesses with capital to purchase farm and aquatic produce, help reduce farmers’ burdens of high costs of fertilisers and boost rural household production.

So far, up to 70 percent of the bank’s VND252 trillion in debts have been either used to feed agricultural and rural development projects or support farmers’ production and living conditions.

Agribank has also unveiled an additional plan to disburse thousands of billions of VND in credits and further reduce interest rates on loans for farmers or businesses to promote agricultural and rural development.

Other clients will also benefit from the bank’s policy to cut interest rates from the current 21 percent to at least 19.8 percent on loans in VND, that is applicable in the entire 2,200 branch-strong network nationwide. The US$ lending rates will be reduced to 7.2 percent from the current 10 percent.

The bank expects its policy, which came into force on July 17, will contribute to stabilising the money market.