UPDATE 1-Brazil suspends rice exports to contain prices

(Adds sale of government stockpile, 2007 rice exports, paragraphs 3, 4)

SAO PAULO, April 23 (Reuters) - Brazil temporarily suspended rice exports to safeguard domestic supply and keep prices of the basic foodstuff stable, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

"Brazil is self-sufficient in rice production and there is a small amount that exceeds local demand, but in order to safeguard supply in the next six to eight months between harvests, exports are suspended," Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes said in a statement.

The government also plans to sell rice from its own stockpiles in coming days "to prevent a surge in prices," the statement said. Brazil has 1.6 million tonnes of rice in government warehouses.

Brazil followed on the steps of India and Vietnam, the world's second- and third-largest rice exporters in 2007, in imposing export curbs of rice in a bid to keep prices of the grain under control. Brazil, which is not a major global rice supplier, exported 313,000 tonnes of rice last year.

(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by David Gregorio)