Asia Rice-Lockdowns and export curbs limit activity in major hubs

* India lockdown hampers delivery of existing contracts
* Vietnam rates unavailable for third week
* Thai rates widen to $555–$580 a tonne from $560-$570
* Bangladesh bans exports of its common rice variety

By Sumita Layek
BENGALURU, April 9 (Reuters) - There was little activity
this week in Asia's main rice trading hubs as a coronavirus
lockdown in India hampered exports, Vietnam's ban on shipments
to ensure it has enough domestic supply continued while Thai
rates remained at seven-year highs.
In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, traders have
stopped signing new export contracts as labour shortages and
logistical disruptions caused by the 21-day lockdown are already
hampering the delivery of existing contracts. "Rice is not moving from fields to mills and mills to
ports," said an exporter based at Kakinada.
Export prices were unavailable for a second week running.
In neighbouring Bangladesh, the government has halted the
export of its common rice variety as domestic prices of the
staple grain have been driven to a two-year by panic buying.
"In this situation, there is no scope to allow rice exports
even though traders came up with some orders," a commerce
ministry official said on Thursday.
It was a similar situation in Vietnam, which has suspended
the signing of new export contracts in an attempt to ensure
domestic supplies are sufficient during the pandemic.
Vietnam's 5% broken rice prices RI-VNBKN5-P1 were
unavailable for the third week in a row.
"There have been no transactions and we're still waiting for
the final decision from the prime minister on the resumption of
exports," said a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade asked the
government earlier this week to resume rice exports but limit
the volume to 800,000 tonnes for April and May. But traders said the Ministry of Finance wants to keep the
ban on white rice exports until June while allowing the export
of fragrant and glutinous rice to resume immediately.
Thailand's benchmark 5% broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices
widened to $555–$580 per tonne - their highest since April 2013
- from $560-$570 last week on concerns about supply shortages
due to an ongoing drought.
"The drought has really hurt supply and pushed up the prices
and kept buyers away. This has been going on for weeks," a rice
trader in Bangkok said.
Rice exporters in Thailand said they were monitoring the
situation in rival exporting countries.
"We're still looking at how COVID-19 is impacting exports in
the main competitors like Vietnam and India to see whether a
lack of exports there will increase demand for Thai rice. So far
there has been no major order from overseas markets," another
rice trader in Bangkok said.
"But even if demand increases because others can't sell, the
supply situation here could push up the price even further."