Vietnam plans to expand its rubber plantations by almost 40 percent by 2015 and boost export earnings in a project worth about US$1.7 billion, the government said on Friday.

Trung Nguyen Corporation, a leading coffee producer in Vietnam, broke ground for construction of a new instant coffee plant in Dak Lak Province Tuesday.

Rice companies signed export contracts totaling 4.76 million tons as of June 10, up 87 percent from a year earlier, Tuoi Tre reported, citing the Vietnam Food Association.