Prices of all ST rice varieties increased simultaneously.

For more than half a month now, the price of ST rice on the market has suddenly increased sharply, especially ST24 and ST25 rice, making consumers and rice dealers restless. In the days before Tet, the demand for rice consumption is increasing, so the price fluctuations have made many establishments not dare to import goods.

Prices increase every day

Accidentally stopping by V.N rice dealer (Phu Thuy market - Phan Thiet city) to buy rice, I heard the dealer explain to customers when they wondered about the daily price changes of ST rice. I asked and found out that from the beginning of January 2024 until now, all types of ST rice have increased in price. On average, this type of rice increases by about 500 VND/kg per day, and has now increased by about 4,000 to 5,000 VND/kg. According to the rice dealer, this is an unprecedented record increase for this product. "Because the price has increased, for the past week we have not dared to import goods but mainly sold reserve rice at the old price. It is unclear whether the price of rice will increase further" - Ms. Nga added. Currently, ST25 branded bags are priced at 30,000 to 35,000 VND/kg depending on the type; ST24 is also at 26,000 to 27,000 VND/kg; ST21 from 24,000 to 25,000 VND/kg.

ST rice prices increased simultaneously.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phung (Phu Thuy Ward - Phan Thiet City) said: "In the past, my family often ate jasmine rice, but since last year I switched to ST 24 rice because the price is quite stable, the rice grains are sticky and fragrant, and the price difference between the two types is not much. However, just last week, I stopped by a rice shop on Thu Khoa Huan Street to buy 10 kg, the dealer quoted a price of 270,000 VND, 300,000 VND higher than the last time I bought. The shop owner explained that in the past 2 weeks, the price of all types of ST rice on the market has increased sharply."

In order to find out the reason for the skyrocketing price of rice, rice dealers in Phan Thiet said that it could be because the new crop has not been harvested yet, but ST25 rice continues to win the "World's Best Rice" award, attracting the attention of consumers as well as rice importers from countries such as China, the US... In addition, it is due to limited supply. Currently, there are only a few shrimp rice areas in the coastal provinces of the West such as Soc Trang , Bac Lieu, Ca Mau... that still have rice. Near Tet, the demand for buying delicious rice for gifts increases, leading to demand exceeding supply, causing the price of ST rice to increase sharply.

ST 25 rice continues to win the " World's Best Rice" award this year.

The owner of a rice shop on Thu Khoa Huan Street said that not only has the price of imported ST rice increased, but since the beginning of December, the prices of other fragrant rice varieties from the West and sticky rice have also increased by about 500 to 1,000 VND/kg. The price of rice on the market is "dancing", so it is very difficult for the shop to import goods to sell. In particular, at the peak, units, companies, and agencies order rice to give to the poor and for charity in large quantities, which has contributed to the price increase.

The annual policy of maintaining rice prices, especially during the Tet holiday, is to share the year-end spending pressure with consumers.

Stabilize rice prices

In that situation, many supermarket systems in the province such as Co.opmart, Lotte Mart, Bach Hoa Xanh... still keep prices stable. Some supermarkets even carry out discount promotions to help stabilize rice prices in the market. According to supermarket representatives, the reason why the units still maintain prices, and even apply discounts on some types of rice is because most of the units have good reserves and signed long-term contracts with suppliers in advance. A representative of Co.opmart Phan Thiet Supermarket said that in recent months, the rice prices of the Co.op system have remained stable, not increasing according to the prices in the retail market. Currently, the supermarket is stabilizing two rice products including regular white rice and fragrant white rice. In addition, the supermarket also applies a promotion program to reduce prices from 5 to 30% on some types of rice such as: Co.op Select fragrant rice 8 priced at 116,000 VND reduced to 99,000 VND/5kg; Nang Hoa Co.op Select rice 5kg bag price 125,000 VND reduced to 105,000 VND; ST21 Co.op Select rice 130,000 VND reduced to 115,000 VND/kg; ST24 Co.op Finest rice 5kg bag price 149,000 VND, buy 2 bags for 248,000 VND; ST25 Co.op Finest rice price 199,000 VND/bag, buy 2 bags for 288,000 VND. The implementation of the annual rice price maintenance policy, especially near Tet, is to share the year-end spending pressure with consumers. Notably, in addition to stabilizing rice prices, this retailer also carries out rotating price reduction activities to share the spending pressure with customers. Similarly, Bach Hoa Xanh and Lotte Mart supermarkets, in addition to stabilizing rice prices over the past few months, also have promotional programs for some types of rice.

ST 25 rice increased from 4,000 - 5,000 VND/kg.

Recently, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a plan to reserve essential goods to stabilize the market before, during and after the Lunar New Year, with implementation from the end of December 2023 to March 2024, including rice (worth about 7.8 billion VND). This year, many units in the province continue to participate in reserving essential goods to contribute to stabilizing the local market. According to requirements, goods participating in market stabilization during Tet must ensure quality, origin, food safety and fully comply with regulations on labeling of goods, giving priority to the use of Vietnamese goods. As for the price of stabilized goods of enterprises participating in the program, it will be 5-10% lower than the market price at the same time of products with the same specifications and quality...

The estimated reserve of essential goods for price stabilization according to the plan of participating units is worth about 391.2 billion VND, of which the largest is Bach Hoa Xanh Trading Joint Stock Company Branch in Binh Thuan with 253.9 billion VND. Lotte Binh Thuan Branch has a reserve of essential goods for market stabilization of about 30 billion VND; Co.opMart Phan Thiet Supermarket (51.4 billion VND), Co.opMart La Gi Supermarket (31.5 billion VND), Co.opMart Phan Ri Cua Supermarket (13 billion VND), Tung Loan Trading and Service Company Limited (10 billion VND), South Central Food Joint Stock Company Branch (1 billion VND)...

Source