Rice trade in Vietnam, the world's second-largest exporter, shrunk in the past week because of a shortage of ships and low stocks ahead of the next harvest, traders said on Wednesday. "It is impossible to find ships at the moment, all are booked till the end of the year," said a trader at a foreign rice trading firm in the commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City. "Fees are also higher."
Traders said shipping freight to Africa, Vietnam's second-largest market after Asia, jumped nearly 40 percent this month to about $85-$90 per tonne from October because of strong global year-end demand and higher fuel costs.
On Wednesday, six vessels were loading 88,370 tonnes of rice at the Saigon Port for Africa while three others have completed loading 54,160 tonnes for Cuba, Africa and Malaysia.
Rice exports during January to November this year is estimated to have declined 4.4 percent from the same period last year to 3.72 million tonnes, but their value is expected to have risen 21.6 percent to $862 million.
This week, Vietnam's five percent broken rice was quoted at $231-$232 per tonne, FOB, Saigon Port, down from $234 late last week.
The 25 percent broken rice was quoted at $216 a tonne, from $216-$219 a tonne last week.
Last week, Typhoon Muifa skirted southern Vietnam, the country's key rice growing region, triggering scattered showers in the drought-stricken areas but agriculture experts said the rains were not sufficient.
As much as 34,000 hectares of rice, or 25 percent of the total rice plantation in the Mekong Delta, the country's rice basket, have been hit by the drought, state media reported.
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