Asian rice export prices diverge: India climbs, Thailand slips, Vietnam holds

Export prices among Asia's largest rice suppliers moved in different directions over the past week, according to a survey published by vietnambiz.vn citing Reuters. Indian offers rose on tighter domestic conditions, Thai prices eased, and Vietnamese quotes held flat, reflecting diverging supply and demand across the region's main origins.

India: offers rise on higher OMSS floor

Indian export prices continued to climb this week on higher domestic quotations and growing concern over supply as planting slowed under dry weather, Reuters reported. Parboiled 5% broken rice was offered at 348-352 USD/tonne, up from 340-345 USD/tonne a week earlier, while 5% broken white rice ranged from 350-357 USD/tonne.

Mukesh Jain, an exporter based in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, said the government's decision to raise the minimum sale price for rice under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) had pushed domestic prices up, forcing exporters to lift their offers. "Buyers are not willing to accept this price. Demand is very weak," he said. As of 5 July, India's summer rice sowing area stood at about 6 million hectares, down markedly from 6.93 million hectares in the same period last year.

Thailand: prices ease as buyers stay away

Thai 5% broken rice was offered at 450 USD/tonne, down slightly from 465 USD/tonne the previous week. A Bangkok trader said demand came mainly from traditional customers, while Indonesia and Malaysia had not placed large-volume orders. The trader warned that supply could fall 20-30% due to the conflict between the United States and Iran, raising production and shipping costs and prompting farmers to cut planting area, adding that weather was also a concern for the July-August harvest.

Bangladesh: flood risk keeps prices high

In Bangladesh, prices remained elevated despite ample government reserves, as concern over flash-flood damage to crops outweighed the effect of large stocks. Pre-monsoon floods have damaged more than 200,000 tonnes of rice this year, while government warehouses still hold over 1.8 million tonnes.

Vietnam: volumes rise, revenue falls

Vietnamese 5% broken rice was quoted at 445-450 USD/tonne, unchanged from the previous week. A trader in Ho Chi Minh City said demand from the Philippines, Vietnam's largest import market, remained strong, with Philippine rice imports up 20% year on year in the first half. According to government data, Vietnam's rice exports reached 5.02 million tonnes in the first six months, up 6.5% year on year, but export revenue fell 2.5% to 2.38 billion USD. In the Mekong Delta, domestic paddy and rice prices were flat, with IR 504 raw rice at 8,950-9,050 dong/kg and CL 555 summer-autumn raw rice at 9,400-9,500 dong/kg, per the An Giang provincial agriculture department and Luagaoviet.com.