Asia Rice-Vietnam rates slide from 1-year high on likely Philippines ban

* Philippines may move to limit imports from Feb. 28 -trader
* Indian rates drop to $369-$373/tonne this week from
$371-$376
* Thai prices to remain high due to the lack of supply
-trader
* Bangladesh to decide on rice export ban by next week
-official

By Harshith Aranya
BENGALURU, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Vietnam's rice export prices
this week slipped from a more than one year high on concerns
about a possible drop in demand from the Philippines, while
rates for the Indian variety dipped as hopes of a correction
delayed purchases.
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 slid to
$365-$375 per tonne from last week's $380, which was the highest
since December 2018.
"We have heard rumours that the Philippines may move to
limit imports from Feb. 28, as a new harvest is beginning
there," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
The Philippines has not made any official announcement.
Another trader in the city, however, said some exporters are
having trouble securing enough rice from farmers to fulfil
export contracts they had signed earlier.
"These exporters signed the contracts before the Lunar New
Year holiday, and hadn't yet made their purchases," the second
trader added.
Meanwhile, sluggish demand and a depreciation in the rupee
INR= pushed top exporter India's export prices off a more than
4-month peak hit earlier this month.
India's 5% broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 was
quoted at $369-$373 per tonne this week, down from $371-$376
last week and the week before.
Demand from African and Asian buyers has been faltering as
they expect rice prices to correct like other commodities, said
an exporter based in Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, prices for Thailand's benchmark 5% broken
rice RI-THBKN5-P1 widened to $430-$452 on Thursday from the
$430-$445 quoted last week.
"There are no major deals, just small ones from old
customers," a Bangkok-based rice trader said.
"Big deals are when I used to sell rice in tens of thousands
of tonnes, nowadays we are talking about a hundred tonne sort of
deal."
The ongoing drought in many rice producing areas has
continued to put strain on supply, keeping the prices of Thai
varieties higher than competitors.
The dry season started in November and usually lasts through
April, although it could persist into June, according to the
Thai government.
"The prices will remain high due to the lack of supply, and
haven't dropped much even as the baht has weakened," another
rice trader said.
In Bangladesh, a senior commerce ministry official on
Thursday said they are actively considering imposing a ban on
common rice exports amid a sharp increase in domestic prices.
"We will come to a decision by next week," the official
added.