Govt will buy 720,000 tons of rice harvested this year to stabilize domestic market prices amid chronic oversupply of the staple grain. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will buy 350,000 tons of rice for its reserve and 370,000 tons to help maintain market prices at a certain level. The government increased the amount of rice purchased for the supply adjustment from 299,000 tons in 2016, when rice prices fell to a 21-year low. As the rice surplus last year was estimated at about 300,000 tons, the government’s purchase for the purpose of price stabilization this year is expected to surpass surplus production