Vietnam to export 8L tonnes of rice

Hanoi, April 7

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked the government to resume rice exports, but limit the volume to 8,00,000 tonnes for April and May, the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

The quantity will be 40 per cent lower than in the corresponding period last year, the government said, adding that 4,00,000 tonnes would be exported in April.

The plan is waiting for approval from the government, which announced on March 25 a ban on signing new rice export contracts to ensure sufficient domestic supplies to cope with the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, Vietnam also donated 5,50,000 face masks to five European countries to support their fight against coronavirus. The masks, made of antimicrobial fabric, were handed to the ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain in Hanoi, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Vietnam, which has reported 245 coronavirus cases, with no deaths, said it has also donated masks and other medical equipment to other countries, including China, Cambodia and Laos.

The Southeast Asian country last week asked its mask producers to step up their production to make 5 million masks a day. —Reuters