Asia Rice-Thai rice export prices rise as drought triggers future supply concerns

* Speculative buying, stockpiling lift Thai export prices-
analyst
* Indian demand steady amid high paddy rates
* Vietnam rice exports sold at $355-$360/tonne
* Bangladesh struggles to notch oversees deals

By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Thailand's rice export prices
rose this week on concerns that a drought hitting the country
may harm future supplies of the crop, while the festive season
led to thin trade in India and Vietnam.
Thailand's benchmark 5 percent broken
rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices were quoted at $424-$435 on Thursday,
an increase from $395-$420 the week before.
"There are concerns that the ongoing drought could hurt
future supply so there is speculative buying and stockpiling by
some mills and exporters, which has driven up the prices," a
Bangkok-based rice trader said.
The government introduced emergency measures last week in 11
provinces around the country, many of them rice-growing areas.
Thailand, the world's second-largest rice exporter, will not
have enough water to grow the crop in some 960,000 hectares of
rice fields around the Chao Phraya River basin, authorities said
in early November. The dry season is expected to last through to April 30 next
year.
Rice export rates notched up in Vietnam as well, with 5
percent broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 quoted at $355-$360 a tonne,
slightly higher from last week's $350-$352.
"The market is just quiet during this Christmas and New Year
holiday," said a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City. "I think it
won't pick up until at least February, when supply of the
winter-spring crop is available."
Despite domestic inventory being nearly empty, prices would
likely not go up in the short term due to weak demand, another
trader based in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang said.
In top exporter India, weak demand amid a rise in paddy
rates in the local market kept export prices steady.
The 5 percent broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 was
quoted around $360-$365 per tonne.
"Most of the traders are on Christmas vacation. Demand is
negligible," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern
state of Andhra Pradesh.
New Delhi earlier this year raised paddy rice purchase price
by 3.7% to 1,815 rupees per 100 kg for the 2019/20 crop.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has failed to secure any overseas
deals since a long-standing export ban on common variety was
lifted in May, with its rice more expensive than supplies from
India or Thailand.
"There is no good news. We are still looking for a market to
export common rice variety," a Dhaka-based trader told Reuters.
"We could fetch some deals on aromatic rice. But for common
variety of parboiled rice, we can offer at least $500 per tonne
while our competitors can offer much lower rates."