Vietnam: No agreement with Thailand on rice prices

The countries' agriculture ministries "have only conducted general cooperation activities", agriculture minister Le Minh Hoan said during a government meeting in Hanoi.

His remarks -- the Vietnamese government's first on the issue -- come less than a month since a Thai agricultural official said the countries had agreed to cooperate in raising the price of rice in the global market.

The countries began talks in May. A Thai spokesman said the objective of raising prices jointly was to increase their leverage in the global market and boost farmers' incomes.

Thailand and Vietnam account for about 10% of global production of rough rice and about 26% of global exports, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Thai exporters have said a price cartel would be unfeasible and would make Thailand and Vietnam uncompetitive.

Vietnam Food Association said late last month the country's rice exports are expected to rise to 6.3-6.5 million tonnes this year from 6.24 million tonnes last year. REUTERS