The Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to allow companies that are not members of the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) to export rice as of yesterday under contracts signed by the Vietnamese Government with its counterparts.

The ministry said the regulations would create favourable conditions for eligible rice exporters without effecting existing export activities.

Under current regulations, only members of the VFA are permitted to export rice under Government contracts with other countries.

Earlier, the Government issued a decree to stabilise rice trading activities on the domestic market and improve the competitiveness of local exporters on the world market.

The association has estimated that the country would export a total of 6 million tonnes of rice this year, 750,000 tonnes less than last year.

It planned to ship the largest volume, accounting for 61.29 per cent, to Asian countries and 29 per cent of the total to African countries.