Vietnam's rice exports ground to a virtual halt this week due to a shortage of vessels, and traders expect freight rates to rise further on the back of high fuel prices and growing shipping demand. "Freight has jumped more than 30 percent from the beginning of the year and is likely to rise even more now," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said.
Traders in commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City told Reuters on Wednesday that only two ships were loading 20,000 tonnes of rice for the Philippines at the key Saigon Port. "Besides those two ships, none are scheduled to arrive anytime soon," a trader said. Traders said freight to Africa has jumped to around $120-$30 a tonne from just $80-$90 in March.
Three other ships have left the port with 12,400 tonnes of 25-percent broken rice for the Philippines, he said. Exporters offered 5-percent broken rice at $302 to $305 a tonne, free on board at Saigon Port this week, unchanged from the past two weeks. The 25-percent broken rice was quoted at $285 to $287 a tonne, free-on-board, slightly up from last week's $283-$285.
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