The article noted that Vietnam’s 5% broken rice prices rose to US$515-520 per tonne on March 25, their highest since December 2011, from US$510-515 in the previous week.
“Demand is picking up and we’re seeing more ships docking at Ho Chi Minh City port for rice loading,” a trader was quoted as saying, adding that: “Prices are expected to stay high as global demand for the grain is still strong amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
Traders said on March 24 that the Vietnam Southern Food Corp had won a contract to export 50,000 tonnes of 5% broken rice to Bangladesh, which is traditionally the world’s third-biggest rice producer but has turned to imports after repeated floods.
A food ministry official in Bangladesh said the country had approved the purchase of 100,000 tonnes of rice, 50,000 tonnes each from India and Vietnam.
In India, the top rice exporter, prices for the 5% broken parboiled variety were unchanged at their highest since mid-February, at US$398-403 per tonne, it said.
Thailand’s benchmark 5% broken rice was offered at US$500-518 a tonne, versus US$505-513 last week. Some traders attributed the price change to a fluctuation in the exchange rate. The baht has dipped 2.9% versus the US dollar since the start of the month.
