Vietnam will take drastic measures to limit local enterprises exporting rice with low prices as the prices worldwide are rising, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Thursday.

The government will not allow them to continue their export activities or access bank loans if they sign undervalued export contracts, the paper quoted Vietnamese Deputy Trade Minister Phan The Rue as saying.

Now, Vietnamese rice is sold at lower prices mainly because its main rice crop is in peak season and local exporters are short of capital to buy the commodity for stockpile.

A ton of Vietnamese 5-percent broken rice is priced at 240-242 U.S. dollars, compared to that of 258-260 dollars in the world, he said.

The world's rice prices would increase this year due to thin supplies of some major rice exporters, he said. India has targeted to sell overseas 3 million tons of the commodity this year, roughly 2 million tons lower than last year.

Thailand and China will not increase their rice exports, while Indonesia will resume its import of the commodity this year, according to the ministry.

Vietnam, which shipped abroad more than 5.2 million tons of rice worth nearly 1.4 billion dollars in 2005, has recently decided to export at most 5 million tons of rice this year, a move to ensure the country's food security.

Vietnam sold overseas 580,000 tons of rice valued at 158 million dollars in the first two months of this year, posting respective year-on-year rises of 2.9 percent and 3.8 percent, according to the General Statistics Office.

Source: Xinhua