High demands push Vietnamese rice's prices up: Business Recorder

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s rice export prices hit amore than nine-year high this week as fresh orders trickled in, while rates forthe Indian variety held near a one-month peak on healthy demand from buyers inother Asian countries and Africa, according to an article published on Pakistan’snews website Business Recorder.

The article noted that Vietnam’s 5 percent broken riceprices rose to 515-520 USD per tonne on March 25, their highest sinceDecember 2011, from 510-515 USD in the previous week.

“Demand is picking up and we’re seeing more ships docking atHo Chi Minh City port for rice loading,” a trader was quoted as saying, addingthat: “Prices are expected to stay high as global demand for the grain is stillstrong amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

Traders said on March 24 that the Vietnam Southern Food Corphad won a contract to export 50,000 tonnes of 5 percent broken rice toBangladesh, which is traditionally the world’s third-biggest rice producer buthas turned to imports after repeated floods.

A food ministry official in Bangladesh said the country hadapproved the purchase of 100,000 tonnes of rice, 50,000 tonnes each from Indiaand Vietnam.

In India, the top rice exporter, prices for the 5 percent brokenparboiled variety were unchanged at their highest since mid-February, at 398-403 USD per tone, it said.

Thailand’s benchmark 5 percent broken rice was offered at 500-518 USD a tonne, versus 505-513 USD last week. Some traders attributedthe price change to a fluctuation in the exchange rate. The baht has dipped 2.9percent versus the US dollar since the start of the month./.

VNA