"We have signed a contract and I think the commerce minister will release all the details soon," said Anukul Tamprasit, president of the Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO), a government agency.

He declined to give further details, but traders close to the deal said the rice was sold at $550 per tonne, C&F, or around $515 per tonne, free on board (FOB).

That is some way below the current market price of $585 per tonne, FOB.

On Tuesday, Vietnamese media and a trader said Indonesia had bought 300,000 tonnes from Vietnam.

However, Vietnamese officials have been playing down reports of new deals, perhaps in an effort to stop prices rising further. .

And Bulog's CEO, Sutarto Alimoeso, denied the contracts, saying Bulog had not sought additional imports over and above the 500,000 tonnes bought from Vietnam in July.

Copyright Reuters, 2010