Indian rice prices rose further, fuelled by demand after the country allowed the sale of more than 2 million tonnes of the grain, while trading in the world's top two exporters, Thailand and Vietnam, was sluggish, with dealers still on holiday, traders said on Wednesday.
Indian white rice rose to $455-$465 per tonne, on a free-on-board basis (FOB) on Wednesday,, from last week's $440-$450. "Allowing overseas sale of rice beyond the permitted 2 million tonnes brought in fresh trade queries, while a weak dollar against the Indian currency also led to the gain in rice prices," said a Delhi-based trader.
Due to ample stocks, India last week allowed the overseas sale of common rice beyond the previous cap of two million tonnes set by Food Minister K. V. Thomas in September 2011. The resumption of Indian rice exports was expected to hit sales of Thai parboiled rice, especially in Africa, where the market share of Thai rice could be eroded by Indian rice.
"If India sells more than 2 million tones of rice this year, that would cut our rice sales to around what we did in 2007, when India was still in the market," Korbsook Iamsuri, head of the Thai Rice Exporters' Association, said in a statement. In 2007, when India was still in the market, Thailand sold 2.7 million tonnes of rice.
The sales jumped 17 percent to 3.17 million tonnes in 2008 after India banned rice export and rose even further, to 3.4 million tonnes, in the following year. As a result, Thai rice exports in 2012 were expected to drop sharply to 5.0 million to 6.5 million tonnes, down from the 2011 record high of 10 million, according to the Thai Rice Exporters' Association.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.