Asia Rice-Demand stagnant in export hubs on lack of fresh offers

* Indian rates dip to $365-$367 a tonne from $366-$369 last
week
* Thai baht jumps to near-four-month high vs dollar
* Bangladesh faces stiff competition from top exporters
-trader
* Quality of Vietnam's summer-autumn harvest not very good
-trader

By Swati Verma
BENGALURU, June 13 (Reuters) - Export prices for Indian and
Vietnamese rice slipped this week on thin demand while strength
in the baht made supplies from Thailand less competitive even as
the world's second-biggest rice exporter struggles to find fresh
orders.
For top rice exporter India, prices for the 5% broken
parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 were quoted at $365-$367 a
tonne this week, down from last week's $366-$369.
"African buyers are holding ample stocks. They are not in a
hurry," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state
of Andhra Pradesh.
India mainly exports non-basmati rice to African countries
and premier basmati rice to the Middle East.
Dealers said planting of the summer-sown staple crop could
also be delayed with the arrival of monsoon rains expected to be
late. Demand also remained lacklustre in Vietnam, where rates for
the 5% broken rice variety RI-VNBKN5-P1 retraced to $345-
$350 a tonne on Thursday, from $350-$360 last week, traders
said.
"The market is quiet at the moment and there aren't many
offers," said one trader in Ho Chi Minh City.
Pressuring prices was inferior quality produce from the
ongoing summer-autumn harvest, another trader added.
In Thailand, rates for the benchmark 5% broken
rice RI-THBKN5-P1 were largely unchanged at $393-$404 a tonne
on Thursday.
Traders said demand for Thai rice has remained stagnant,
with no major deals in sight in the short or medium term.
"We are keeping our eye on the Middle Eastern markets after
Ramadan, but so far there are no signs of major deals and most
traders are selling rice to their usual customers," a Bangkok
rice trader said.
The growing strength of the baht THB=TH , which on Thursday
touched its highest against the U.S. dollar in nearly four
months, continues to levy competitive pressure on staple prices.
"The only factor that will impact the price of rice right
now is the currency; the strength of the baht against the U.S.
dollar will continue to make Thai rice more expensive than our
competitors," another rice trader said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is finding it difficult to export rice
despite a drastic fall in domestic prices.
"It won't be easy for us to make export deals as our produce
is (more) expensive than India and Thailand," a trader in Dhaka
said.
The South Asian country, which usually produces parboiled
rice, has lifted its long-standing ban on rice exports, hoping
to sell as much as 1.5 million tonnes to support farmers after a
sharp drop in prices.