Rice prices have risen by 2-4 percent. (Photo: SGGP)

Rice prices have risen by 2-4 percent in many provinces after it instructed State-owned food companies to buy 500,000 tons of rice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said October 4.

Rice was sold at around VND5,300 to VND6,100 a kilo, it said.

The ministry’s order to purchase rice was meant to keep the grain’s prices high to benefit farmers.

However, the prices of agricultural inputs are falling -- urea fertilizer, for instance, is down 6.74 percent to VND6,000 a kilogram in Can Tho, 6 percent cheaper at VND6,100 in Danang, and 4.5 percent cheaper at VND6,500 in Hanoi.