Asia Rice-India prices gain, expensive Thai offers lose out

* Vietnam rates jump to new multi-year peak at $450 a tonne
* Rainfall eases supply woes in drought-hit Thailand
* Bangladesh domestic prices near two-year high

By Nakul Iyer
BENGALURU, May 7 (Reuters) - Rice export prices from India
held near a nine-month high this week on strong demand from
buyers in both Asia and Africa, with Thailand losing out to
cheaper grain from the top exporter.
India's 5% broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 was
quoted at $378-$383 per tonne, unchanged from last week.
Demand for Indian rice from Asian and African buyers has
been slowly improving as New Delhi is offering more competitive
prices than Thailand, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the
southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
A weak rupee INR=D4 also helped, raising exporters' margin
from overseas sales, the exporter said.
Thailand's benchmark 5% broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices
were quoted at $515–$546, down from $535-$557 the week before,
on easing concerns over domestic supply even as overseas demand
remained unchanged, traders said.
"Prices have been high because mills were concerned about
possible shortages, but after a spell of rainfall, the mills are
starting to sell their stock again," a Bangkok-based rice trader
said.
One of the worst droughts in decades earlier this year had
put a strain on supply and pushed Thai rice prices to their
highest in about seven years in early April.
But the supply concerns have now eased due to recent rains
and forecasts for more in the country's rice growing regions.
Lower domestic supplies, meanwhile, pushed rates for 5%
broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 from Vietnam to a fresh two-year peak
of $450 per tonne on Thursday, but activity on the export market
remained quiet.
"Not many new contracts have been signed recently as
domestic supplies are running low," a trader based in Ho Chi
Minh City said.
"Many local firms are focusing on their rice purchase from
farmers for the national stockpiling program."
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last week agreed
to fully resume the country's rice exports from this month,
after banning exports in March and limiting shipments for April
to 500,000 tonnes to make sure the country had sufficient food
during the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's food ministry said on Thursday the
country would buy 1.15 million tonnes of rice and 800,000 tonnes
of paddy from local farmers in the current harvesting season to
secure supplies.
Panic buying has driven domestic rice prices to a two-year
high in Bangladesh as the number of coronavirus cases in the
country surpassed 10,000 as of Monday.