Rice farmers in Savannakhet province will be encouraged to store more of this wet season's rice crop in a bid to tackle spiralling prices.
Despite the cost of rice in the province returning to normal levels following the Lao New Year (Pi Mai) price hike, this month has seen a return to inflated prices as supplies begin to dwindle.
During Pi Mai, grade A rice rose from 6,500 to 7,000 kip a kg and grade B from 5,500 to 6,000 kip. This month has seen a return to those prices, according to a report from the provincial authorities.
The main reason for the hike is a shortage of supply on the domestic market as farmers increasingly sell their crops in lucrative foreign export deals, according to a member of the provincial Industry and Commerce Department, Mr Phansouphin Chithanavanh.
He expects prices to continue to rise if farmers fail to store more of their crop for domestic consumption.
“The high price of rice this year should be taken as a signal to encourage provincial farmers to sell more of their products locally,” said Mr Phansouphin.
The industry and commerce sector is directing district authorities to inspect rice traders and put in place price control measures to help alleviate the problem, he added.
He also said more regulation needs to be enforced to ensure domestic and foreign traders hold a valid business registration certificate.
Rice is still the top commercial crop in Savannakhet, and accounts for the majority of family incomes.
The provincial authorities encouraged farmers to produce more than 700,000 tonnes of rice this year, a figure that can supply sufficient rice for provincial consumption, while still providing some surplus for sale in domestic and international markets.
Last wet season, the province produced about 600,000 tonnes of rice, and more than 126,000 tonnes in the dry season, according to a report from the provincial agriculture section.
This wet season the provincial authorities are encouraging farmers to produce about 620,000 tonnes of rice on 165,480 hectares of land.
The cost of rice in many markets in Vientiane and some provinces is also higher.
According to sources in Vientiane's Thongkhankham market this week, the price of grade A sticky rice was around 90,000 kip per 12kg, and grade B was around 80,000 kip, while grade A plain rice was selling for 120,000 kip per 12kg and grade B was around 100,000 kip.
