Rice prices in Thailand jumped this week, boosted by fresh purchases from China and Indonesia amid a buoyant baht, while demand for the staple weakened in top-exporter India. In Thailand, the world's second-biggest rice exporter, benchmark 5 percent broken rice rallied to $432-$435 per tonne, free on board (FOB) Bangkok, from $408-$410 last week.
"China and Indonesia bought our rice," a trader in Bangkok said, adding that the Indonesia purchase was business-to-business while the Chinese purchase came through the government. "China bought it at much higher prices, so millers thought if China could afford it at this level, prices could rise, and they did." The baht traded near its strongest level in over four years on Thursday. A stronger baht translates to higher export prices in US dollars.
Thailand plans to offer for sale 2 million tonnes of rice still remaining in state stockpiles next month or in May, the country's commerce ministry said on Monday. The country aims to export 9.5 million tonnes this year, compared with a record 11.63 million tonnes shipped in 2017. In India, 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices were quoted at $422-$426 per tonne, unchanged from last week amid limited supplies.
"African buyers are a bit active but Asian demand is weak. From next month supply from winter-sown crop is expected to go up," said a Pune-based dealer with an exporting firm. India's non-basmati rice exports during April-January jumped 34 percent from a year earlier as Bangladesh, Benin and Sri Lanka raised purchases. However, imports by Bangladesh, which has emerged as a major rice buyer since 2017 after floods damaged its crops, will drop in the coming months as there is no fresh demand, Badrul Hasan, head of Bangladesh's state grain buyer, said.
"Our rice stock is quite satisfactory and we have also started subsidised rice sales to cool prices in domestic markets." Rice at government warehouses stood at nearly 1.1 million tonnes, boosted by record imports, Bangladesh's food ministry data showed. In Vietnam, 5 percent broken rice fell to $410-$415 a tonne from $418-425 a week earlier as the winter-spring harvest peaked.
"Farmers have harvested around 30 percent of the paddy and prices may fall further in the coming weeks on strong supplies," a Ho Chi Minh City-based trader said. The country's top rice exporter Vietnam Southern Food Corp., or Vinafood II, raised $51 million from selling a 23 percent stake at an initial public offering on Wednesday. The IPO has no immediate impact on the domestic rice market, traders said.
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