* Thai rice prices fall due to a weak baht, coronavirus
* Deliveries of Vietnamese farm produce hurt by virus-trader
* Bangladesh offers traders cash subsidy worth 15% of rice
exports
* India's 2019 rice exports slide to 8-year low - govt data
By Shreyansi Singh
BENGALURU, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Rice export prices in India
edged up to the highest level in more than four months this
week, helped by healthy demand from African countries, while
markets in Thailand and Vietnam grapple with the new coronavirus
outbreak.
India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1
was quoted around $370-$375 per tonne this week, the highest
since the last week of September.
Export prices were up from $369-$373 quoted in the previous
week, also supported by an appreciation in rupee.
"Demand is good for the new season crop. Prices are also
competitive," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern
state of Andhra Pradesh.
The uptick in demand came after rice exports in 2019 fell
18.1% from a year ago to their lowest in eight years, government
data showed. Thailand's benchmark 5 percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1
prices eased to $425-$439 a tonne from $432-$453 last week, hurt
by a weak local currency.
The Thai baht THB=TH plunged to a seven-month low on Jan.
30, weighed down by the spread of the coronavirus that
threatened the country's tourism sector, a key driver of growth.
Traders expect export prices to drop further on the outbreak
that has killed 563 people in mainland China. China was Thailand's second-largest export market last year.
Chinese tourists also account for more than a quarter of total
tourist arrivals in the Southeast Asian country each year.
Domestic rice prices in Thailand remained high as a
persistent drought undermined new supply, according to a
Bangkok-based trader.
"The ongoing coronavirus epidemic in China has also caused
disruption to deliveries of Vietnamese farm produce to China,
including rice," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
The impact on shipments was however limited since China had
been cutting down on rice imports from Vietnam for over a year,
the trader said.
Rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 in Vietnam rose to
$355-$360 per tonne from $345 a tonne a week ago.
"Demand for 5% broken rice remains strong but the growing
area in Vietnam is shrinking, partly due to salinity," the
trader said.
Farmers in the Mekong Delta have harvested around 30% of the
winter-spring crop, traders said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has offered traders a cash subsidy
worth 15% of rice exports in a bid to compete with rivals and
protect farmers struggling with low prices, Agriculture Minister
Abdur Razzak said on Wednesday. "We wanted at least a 20% cash subsidy. It'll still be
difficult to fight our competitors," a trader told Reuters.