Stable rice prices in Thailand and Vietnam, the world's leading exporters of the grain, have failed to boost sales, with key buyers in Africa holding off due to the election in Nigeria, traders said on Wednesday. Kiattisak Kanlayasirivat, a director at Ascend Commodities-SA in Bangkok, said he expected African orders to pick up after the election as political uncertainty eased. Winner Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday congratulated outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan for peacefully relinquishing power in the West African nation.
Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter, followed by India and Vietnam.
The 5-percent broken rice from Thailand edged up to $398 a tonne on Wednesday, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok, from $397 last week.
The grade dropped around 4 percent in March from $415 a tonne on February 27, but still stands above Vietnamese grain quoted at $365-$375 a tonne on Wednesday, FOB Saigon Port.
"Prices have gone down a lot but the market is still inactive," said another Bangkok-based trader.
"The weak euro might have had an effect on African buyers, while Yemen, also a rice importer, is currently being bombed."
The Thai government has around 17 million tonnes in stock, which it plans to sell off within two years.
"But Africa does not have money, so the government ends up selling to traders who sell the rice to European nations," Kiattisak said.
Prices in Vietnam were also stable, with China possibly slowing its buying, traders said.
"There has been no sudden change in buying demand and the market is slow," said a dealer with a foreign firm in Ho Chi Minh City, adding that cheaper grain in Pakistan or India was more attractive to Africa buyers.
Vietnam's rice exports in the first three months of 2015 dropped 25.7 percent from a year ago to an estimated 1.04 million tonnes, the government said.
Slow exports and fresh supplies from a major harvest could pull prices down in coming weeks as Vietnam is ending domestic purchases for a stockpiling scheme on April 15, traders said.
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