Prices of rice shipped from top exporter India were steady at an 18-month low while Thai rates were also unchanged from last week, amid muted demand and rising supplies.
India’s 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $429-$435 per metric ton this week, unchanged from last week. Indian 5% broken white rice was quoted at $432 to $440 per ton this week.
“Demand is slow right now. With prices dropping over the past three months, buyers are only picking up what they absolutely need,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
India’s rice exports held steady in 2024 despite New Delhi’s export curbs, as record high premium basmati rice shipments offset a decline in the overseas sales of non-basmati rice.
Thailand’s 5% broken rice hovered at $450 to $455 per tonne this week, same range as the prices quoted the week before, when they hit their lowest since December 2022.
Thai traders said the supply of rice remains ample with the market expecting more input around the end of February.
Asia rice: Ample supply pushes India rates lower, Thai prices at 2-year low
The demand, meanwhile, has been relatively muted with some small deals from markets in Asia and Africa but no major deals, traders said.
“We have seen a drop off from last year’s big buyers like Indonesia,” said a Bangkok-based rice trader. “The Philippines is also buying less.”
The Thai government said earlier this week that Thailand’s rice exports could fall by about 24% to 7.5 million metric tons this year.
Thailand, the world’s second-largest rice exporter after India, shipped 9.95 million tons of rice in 2024, its highest level in six years and up 13.4% on an annual basis.
Bangladesh has reached a state-to-state agreement to import 100,000 tons of white rice from Vietnam, with the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation supplying the bulk at a price of $474.25 per ton.
Vietnam markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
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