Prices for Vietnamese rice are set to rise in coming weeks on loading demand from the Philippines and China, while Thai prices have started to ease as demand from Nigeria subsides, traders and exporters said on Wednesday. Five percent broken rice widened to $435-$445 per tonne on Wednesday, free-on-board Saigon Port, compared with $440-$445 per tonne last Wednesday.
Twenty-five percent broken rice strengthened slightly to $390-$405 per tonne, from $390-$395 a week ago. Traders said prices were likely to rise further in coming weeks on loading demand from the Philippines, and steady demand from neighbouring China.
"Loading demand from China remains strong, and that is helping to keep prices steady," a trader said, adding that further orders from Manila would support prices as supply peaks. Vietnam has signed contracts to export a total of 500,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines, with shipments to begin from mid-April, traders said on Wednesday.
It has also signed several small contracts for a total of 550,000 tonnes of 5 percent broken rice to China through official trading channels, Chairman Truong Thanh Phong of the Vietnam Food Association told Wednesday's Vietnam Economic Times newspaper. Another 400,000 tonnes has been sold to China in unofficial cross-border trade, industry officials have said.
THAI PRICES EASE Rice prices in Thailand fell as unexpected demand from Nigeria, which had supported Thai prices in recent weeks, subsided, traders said. Nigerian buyers, weary of port congestion in India, had switched to buy about 100,000 tonnes of rice from Thai exporters.
"Loading demand for Nigerian orders is expected to subside within a few weeks, after which demand will be thin," said a Bangkok-based trader. With an absence of Nigerian demand, benchmark 100 percent B grade white rice dropped to $550 per tonne, from last week's $560.
Another 5 percent broken grade Thai white rice was offered at $495 per tonne, down from last week's $550. Thai rice exports in the first quarter of this year fell sharply to 1.3 million tonnes, from 2.6 million tonnes a year earlier. However, traders said they did not expected Thai rice prices to fall significantly as government intervention should keep prices above $500 per tonne. The Thai government has extended a subsidy scheme to the end of June, paying 15,000 baht ($490) per tonne of paddy to support farmers, well above the market price about 9,000 baht per tonne.
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