HANOI: Vietnamese rice export prices rose this week as supplies were thinned by floods and landslides, while logistical constraints slowed shipments out of India.

Vietnam’s 5% broken rice prices rose to $495 per tonne on Thursday from $485-$495 last week.

“Supplies are thin, while domestic demand is on the rise as millions of people in central Vietnam have been affected by a series of floods and landslides,” a trader based in An Giang province said.

Vietnam’s exports in the first 10 months of this year were forecast to have dropped 4% from a year earlier to 5.29 million tonnes, government data showed.

Shipments from top exporter India slowed as exporters struggled to secure rail wagons and due to congestion at a key port.

“Logistical issues have slowed down exports. The sharp rise in container freight rates have also been hitting traders, “ B. V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association said.

Rates for India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety fell to $370-$375 per tonne from $372-$377 last week.