UPDATE 2-Philippines seeks extra 300,000 T rice imports amid pandemic

* Govt seeks 300,000 T of rice ahead of lean harvest season
* Deal eyed with Vietnam, India, Thailand, Myanmar or
Cambodia
* Philippines' 2020 rice imports on track to hit record high
* Rice export prices in Asia at multi-year peaks on high
demand

(Adds comments from trader in Vietnam, industry official in
Thailand)
By Enrico Dela Cruz
MANILA, May 11 (Reuters) - The Philippines, the world's top
rice buyer, is seeking to import another 300,000 tonnes of the
staple food to boost state stockpiles while battling the
coronavirus pandemic and ahead of its own lean season in the
third quarter.
The planned government-to-government deal would raise the
Southeast Asian country's rice imports so far this year to a
record 3 million tonnes, exceeding last year's purchases
totalling 2.9 million tonnes.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said on Monday the
government has sent inquiries to Asia's biggest producers
Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Cambodia, seeking delivery
before the third quarter, when domestic harvesting is usually
low.
Fresh demand from the Philippines could boost export prices
in Asia that are already at their highest in as much as two
years.
Last week, rice export prices from top supplier India held
near a nine-month high on strong demand from buyers in both Asia
and Africa. Prices in Vietnam for its 5% broken rice variety stood at
the two-year peak of $450 a tonne on Monday, despite weak
exports activity as the government's ongoing stockpiling
programme kept supply low.
"Supplies are expected to start building up from next month
when a small harvest in the country begins," said a trader based
in the Vietnamese province of An Giang.
Vietnam, the third-largest rice supplier, fully resumed
exports this month, after halting sales from late March and
limiting supply in April at 500,000 tonnes to make sure it has
sufficient food during the pandemic. The Philippines, which usually buys most of its rice imports
from Vietnam, had a 3.6% year-on-year contraction in its rice
harvest in the first quarter. Thailand, the No. 2 rice exporter, is not optimistic though
about securing a deal with the Philippines, as its rice
varieties are trading higher than those in Vietnam.
"It depends on whether Vietnam will be willing to supply the
full amount. If not, we might be able to make some
contribution," said Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of
the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
The association quoted 5% white rice RI-THWHT5-A at $539 a
tonne, F.O.B. Bangkok, last week, while traders quoted a range
between $515–$546 RI-THBKN5-P1 .
Thailand expects to have a rice surplus of around 8 million
tonnes for exports this year, despite an ongoing drought.
Vietnam has committed to start delivering this month the
400,000 tonnes that Philippine traders contracted in April, Dar
said in a statement.