The November Market Review by global rice market news provider Oryza hasshown that the price of Vietnamese rice surpassed that of Thai rice.
According to data released on December 20, Vietnamese 5 percent brokenrice was sold for 410-420 USD per tonne, down 20 USD per tonne from twoweeks ago, but 10 USD higher than that one month ago.
The price of Thai rice (of the same variety), in comparison, declined15 USD per tonne to 380 USD per tonne from two weeks ago. The price wasalso lower by 25 USD per tonne from one month ago.
Compared with the same period last year, the Vietnamese rice price ishigher by 5 USD per tonne, while the price of Thai rice fell 170 USD pertonne during the same period.
Do Van Hao, an expertat the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said that in recent times, there have been a few instanceswhen the export price of Vietnamese rice surpassed that of Thai rice. Hepointed out that it was not the first time the Vietnamese rice pricehad climbed higher than the Thai rice price because such a phenomenonhad occurred in the past, although for very short durations.
"There are some reasons that have pushed the price of Vietnam's ricehigher than the price of Thai rice recently. First, Vietnam won acontract to export 500,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines on November25. The lowest price under this contract was 462.25 USD per tonne,while Thai rice fetched a price of 475 USD per tonne. That hasstimulated demand for Vietnamese rice and raised export prices," hesaid.
"Second, Thailand has permitted its ricegranaries to export rice stored from earlier harvests. Currently, itsgranaries store tens of millions of tonnes of rice and the increasingexports have led to falling prices," he noted.
"Third, the exchange rate between the Thai baht and the US dollar hasseen an increasing trend, which has lowered the price of rice in thelocal currency," he added.
Echoing the samesentiment, agricultural expert Vo Tong Xuan noted that while Vietnam isexporting its latest rice harvest, Thailand is selling rice from itsgranaries, leading to price disparities.
"Enterprises exporting rice to China and Africa have lowered theirreserves. Now, in the middle of December, we cannot purchase rice fromfarmers because the third crop was harvested in November. Lower supplyis one of the reasons that have pushed the price higher," he said.
"I think the current price is suitable because Thailand is notlowering the price of its high-quality rice. Right now, Cambodia isharvesting a new crop and a portion of that will be exported toVietnam."
Hao shrugged off worries about importingrice from overseas while the price is high, noting that pricedisparities are currently not too wide. He also pointed out that thevariety of rice exported is different from that consumed in Vietnam.
Hao added: "Thai rice could, however, be imported for domesticconsumption if its price is much lower than that of Vietnamese rice.Recently, Vietnam has imported large quantities of rice from Thailand,and if Thai rice is cheap and of good quality, the level of importscould increase."
According to the Vietnam FoodAssociation (VFA), between January 2013 and December 19, the quantityof rice exports reached 6.325 million tonnes, which had a free-on-board(FOB) value of 2.735 billion USD and a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF)value of 2.848 billion USD.
Between December 1 and19, the quantity of rice exported was 183,897 tonnes, which had an FOBvalue of 86.569 million USD and a CIF value of 91.969 million USD.
Speaking to the Vneconomy newspaper, general secretary HuynhMinh Hue said the total quantity of rice exports for 2013 is estimatedat around 6.6 million of tonnes, lower than expected. The VFA had set agoal of exporting 7.5 million tonnes of rice at the beginning of 2013.-VNA
According to data released on December 20, Vietnamese 5 percent brokenrice was sold for 410-420 USD per tonne, down 20 USD per tonne from twoweeks ago, but 10 USD higher than that one month ago.
The price of Thai rice (of the same variety), in comparison, declined15 USD per tonne to 380 USD per tonne from two weeks ago. The price wasalso lower by 25 USD per tonne from one month ago.
Compared with the same period last year, the Vietnamese rice price ishigher by 5 USD per tonne, while the price of Thai rice fell 170 USD pertonne during the same period.
Do Van Hao, an expertat the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said that in recent times, there have been a few instanceswhen the export price of Vietnamese rice surpassed that of Thai rice. Hepointed out that it was not the first time the Vietnamese rice pricehad climbed higher than the Thai rice price because such a phenomenonhad occurred in the past, although for very short durations.
"There are some reasons that have pushed the price of Vietnam's ricehigher than the price of Thai rice recently. First, Vietnam won acontract to export 500,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines on November25. The lowest price under this contract was 462.25 USD per tonne,while Thai rice fetched a price of 475 USD per tonne. That hasstimulated demand for Vietnamese rice and raised export prices," hesaid.
"Second, Thailand has permitted its ricegranaries to export rice stored from earlier harvests. Currently, itsgranaries store tens of millions of tonnes of rice and the increasingexports have led to falling prices," he noted.
"Third, the exchange rate between the Thai baht and the US dollar hasseen an increasing trend, which has lowered the price of rice in thelocal currency," he added.
Echoing the samesentiment, agricultural expert Vo Tong Xuan noted that while Vietnam isexporting its latest rice harvest, Thailand is selling rice from itsgranaries, leading to price disparities.
"Enterprises exporting rice to China and Africa have lowered theirreserves. Now, in the middle of December, we cannot purchase rice fromfarmers because the third crop was harvested in November. Lower supplyis one of the reasons that have pushed the price higher," he said.
"I think the current price is suitable because Thailand is notlowering the price of its high-quality rice. Right now, Cambodia isharvesting a new crop and a portion of that will be exported toVietnam."
Hao shrugged off worries about importingrice from overseas while the price is high, noting that pricedisparities are currently not too wide. He also pointed out that thevariety of rice exported is different from that consumed in Vietnam.
Hao added: "Thai rice could, however, be imported for domesticconsumption if its price is much lower than that of Vietnamese rice.Recently, Vietnam has imported large quantities of rice from Thailand,and if Thai rice is cheap and of good quality, the level of importscould increase."
According to the Vietnam FoodAssociation (VFA), between January 2013 and December 19, the quantityof rice exports reached 6.325 million tonnes, which had a free-on-board(FOB) value of 2.735 billion USD and a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF)value of 2.848 billion USD.
Between December 1 and19, the quantity of rice exported was 183,897 tonnes, which had an FOBvalue of 86.569 million USD and a CIF value of 91.969 million USD.
Speaking to the Vneconomy newspaper, general secretary HuynhMinh Hue said the total quantity of rice exports for 2013 is estimatedat around 6.6 million of tonnes, lower than expected. The VFA had set agoal of exporting 7.5 million tonnes of rice at the beginning of 2013.-VNA
