ASIA RICE-Vietnam, Thai rates dip as eyes turn to India rice export policy

By Reuters

Rice export prices from Vietnam slipped to their lowest levels in a year, and Thai rates also dropped this week amid lacklustre demand, as markets awaited potential easing of restrictions by top exporter India.

Vietnam’s 5% broken rice was offered at $565-$570 per metric ton on Thursday, its lowest since July 27, 2023 and down from $575 a week ago, traders said.

“Sales remain slow as buyers are expecting India to ease its restrictions on rice exports,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Vietnam’s rice shipments in June fell 40% from May to 513,409 tons, according to the government’s official customs data. For the first half of this year, however, exports rose 7.4% from a year earlier to 4.55 million tons.

Thailand’s 5% broken rice slipped to a range of $570 to $575 per ton on Thursday, their lowest level since early April, down from $585 last week.

There were no big orders coming in and new supply was doing well, said a Bangkok-based trader.

Another trader said there were no special orders and sellers were relying on regular customers.

“Additional supply is coming out and it will be more clear in August how the yield was,” the trader said.

India’s 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $539-$545 per ton this week, down from $541-$548 last week on sluggish demand because of higher freight rates and depreciation in the rupee.

“Demand is a bit weak for the past few weeks. Buyers are postponing purchases after aggressively buying in May,” said an exporter based in Kakinada in southern Andhra Pradesh state.

Meanwhile, domestic rice prices in Bangladesh remained high despite favorable harvests and ample reserves, putting a strain on consumers.

The situation could worsen, as flooding has submerged vast area of cropland, potentially affecting future rice production.

This article has been republished from The Hindustan Times.