The Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan had suggested that 90 percent of the year's quota be allocated to firms at one time. Such an allocation would likely take place in December, traders have said. The rest of the quota would be given to firms that had shown good export performance over the year, Tan added. Vietnam previously granted rice export quotas to firms only until September each year, and then issued additional quotas after that. The state would continue to set a floor price for the purchase of unhusked rice from farmers, the paper said. Tan added that next year's target for exports of the staple should be around four million tonnes. The Trade Ministry would later set an official target for 2000, the newspaper said. Vietnam expects to ship 4.3 million tonnes of rice this year, from 3.9 million in 1998.