Vietnamese rice prices touched their highest level of the year this week on the back of scant supply at the end of the harvest and strong export demand, traders said. "Loading demand, especially for deliveries to the Philippines, will only strengthen between now and the first quarter of 2010 while available grain from farmers is very limited," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said.
Dealers said export quotations for the 5 percent broken rice grade rose to this year's high of $500 a tonne, free on board, up $40 from a week ago and nearly 30 percent higher than price levels in January. The 25 percent broken grade also surged to $470 a tonne, free on board, from $420 a tonne a week ago. The grade was traded at only $330 a tonne in January.
"Paddy and rice prices have posted strong gains in recent days but supply was scant because there is not much grain left," the Vietnam Food Association said in a weekly rice report. The association said domestic paddy prices tracked the jump in export prices to rise to an average 4,800-5,200 dong (27-29 US cents) per kg this week, from 4,200-4,400 dong per kg a week ago.
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