Asia Rice: Vietnam rates slip on firm supplies as harvest progresses

By Ashitha Shivaprasad, Reuters

Prices of rice exported from Vietnam slipped for a second straight week as fresh supply tickled in from ongoing harvest, while Indian rates stay put near record high levels amid limited supplies.

Vietnam’s 5% broken rice was offered at $600 per metric ton, down from $625-$630 a week ago.

“Prices fall on expectations that supplies will increase over the next weeks amid an ongoing harvest,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

“But I don’t think prices will fall much further as demand remains strong, with Indonesia said to increase its purchases this year.”

Preliminary shipping data showed 91,450 tons of rice will be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City port in March, with most of the rice heading to Indonesia.

Top exporter India’s 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at a record $546-$554 per ton this week, unchanged from the last week.

“Due to the recent rise in prices, the discount of Indian rice to other exporting countries has narrowed. Buyers are now awaiting a price correction,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Vietnam imported husked brown rice from India for the first time in decades to process the grain and export the refined, white variety, trade and government sources said, as Hanoi tries to cash in on strong global demand for the staple.

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, domestic prices of rice stayed elevated this week despite good yields and reserves, officials said. The government continues to sell the staple grain at subsidized rates to help people experiencing poverty against high inflation.

Thailand’s 5% broken rice prices remained at $615 per ton, unchanged from the previous week.

A Bangkok-based trader said that prices remained strong because seasonal supply has just started coming in.

This article has been republished from the Economic Times.