Rice prices were little changed in Thailand and Vietnam as buying declined ahead of year-end holidays, traders said on Wednesday, while prices in India edged down after its rupee currency sank to a 13-month low. "It's almost New Year so the market is quiet," a Bangkok-based trader said of trade in Thailand. "It is like this every year the market tends to go quiet as companies close down."
The Indian rupee hit 13-month lows on Tuesday as markets in the region tumbled on fears over the health of the global economy.
"Due to a slight drop in paddy prices and a weak rupee, exporters are reducing prices," said B.V. Krishna Rao, managing director of Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, a leading Indian exporter.
Indian 5 percent broken rice was quoted at $390-$400 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) at Kakinada port, against around $405 FOB last week.
"Since Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan are quoting lower prices, Indian sellers have no choice but to follow them. Right now Indian exports are subdued, but from mid-January exports will pick up," Rao added.
The price of Thailand's benchmark 5 percent broken rice has remained within the range of $410-$415 a tonne FOB since it first eased from $420 in mid-November. It was quoted at $413-$415 on Wednesday.
Thailand's government has about 17 million tonnes of rice in stockpiles and only a tenth of it is of standard export quality, according to the latest audit. The stocks were build up under the previous government's rice-buying scheme and has kept pressure on the global market.
In an effort to sell off those stockpiles, the government will sign an agreement to sell rice to China on Friday, Arkom Termpittayapaisith, deputy minister of transport, told reporters on Wednesday. Details of the deal have not been made public.
The government will also open a tender to sell 400,000 tonnes of rice on Monday.
Vietnam's rice market was also quiet due to the approaching holiday season with the 5 percent broken grade quoted at $390-$395 FOB on Wednesday, against $390-$400 last Tuesday.
"No one trades much at the year end," said a Vietnamese trader for a foreign company, adding that Chinese buyers had used up their quota for imports allowed this year.
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