Asian Rice Prices Firm

The market has basically bottomed out, one Vietnamese trader said. Traders have started to buy, partly because the Indian crop is not really in the market yet.

In Thailand, rice prices have firmed slightly in the past two weeks as only a small quantity of fresh supplies have entered a quiet market, local trade sources said.

The Thai benchmark 100 per cent white B rice for Sept/Oct shipment was quoted at between $345-$355 a tonne free on board(fob). Bangkok compared with $335 two weeks ago.

Buyers have slowed purchases as they await expected easier prices in coming weeks, the sources said.

 

Traders attributed the recent drop in supply partly to recent heavy monsoon rain. A big amount of paddy was dampened by rain. So, millers had to slow down activity because rice breaks when you mill it while it is damp, one trader said.

At Bangkok port, ships were loading about 40,000 tonnes of rice for various destinations, industry sources said.

These included 4,000 tonnes of fragrant rice to China and 6,130 tonnes of 100 per cent rice to Malaysia. A further 5,100 tonnes were also headed for Japan and 8,000 tonnes to Nigeria, and the rest to unidentified destinations.