Rice price up in Xieng Khuang
Rice price up in Xieng Khuang
Rice traders in Xieng Khuang province are reaping the spoils of high demand for the crop, with rice prices well up on the same period last year.
Director of the provincial Rice Miller and Rice Buyer Group, Ms Viengsod Maladvan, said last harvest the group was purchasing paddy rice at 2,200 kip per kg and selling polished rice at 4,000 kip per kg, but this harvest prices had soared to 2,700 kip per kg to buy and 5,000 kip per kg to sell.
Ms Viengsod said the popular kai noi variety rose from 2,600 kip to 3,500 kip per kg to buy as paddy rice, and from 5,000 kip to 6,000 kip per kg to sell as polished rice.
She said the price hike could be the result of upland rice farmers switching to maize, a higher income crop, leading to reduced supply.
However, the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department reported the same amount of upland rice cultivation this season as last season – 8,500 hectares.
Ms Viengsod said she believed the price of rice would continue to rise as the harvesting season neared its end.
Kai noi is a popular rice variety among Lao people and on the Vietnamese market.
Ms Viengsod said last year Vietnamese rice traders bought thousands of tonnes of kai noi rice from her group and this year the amount purchased was likely to rise again, with many orders already placed.
Deputy Head of the department's Agriculture Section, Mr Bounlith Thoummavong, said Xieng Khuang had about 10,000ha of kai noi paddies, producing 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes per year.
Mr Bounlith said the provincial authority was working with the National Agriculture and Forestry Institute to register a copyright on the traditional rice variety.
He said kai noi was a local symbol and had special features that meant it could only be produced in some areas of Xieng Khuang and Huaphan provinces.
Rice prices are trending higher around the country this season compared to last year but the extra costs are unlikely to be passed on to consumers.
Polished rice is currently selling in markets in Vientiane and the provinces for 5,000 kip to 6,000 kip a kg.
In Luang Namtha province the price of rice fell this month compared to August from 6,000 kip to 7,000 kip down to 5,000 kip to 6,000 kip as farmers are now harvesting their upland crops, said the Head of the provincial Domestic Trade Section, Mr Sawaeng Sivilay.
vientiane times
