Vietnam buys rice from rival producer India

Vietnam is buying rice from rival producer India for the first time in decades, importing 70,000 tons of 100 percent broken rice for January and February shipments, after local prices peaked in nine years.

Dwindling supplies and continued purchases from the Philippines pushed Vietnamese rice export prices.

The transaction is for around $310 per ton on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice costs $500 to $505 per ton, significantly higher than Indian prices of $381 to $387.

According to B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association, Indian prices are very attractive making exports possible.

A rice trader based in Ho Chi Minh City noted that rice imported from India is mainly used for animal feed production and breweries.

The total paddy output of Vietnam, the world's third-biggest rice exporter, dropped by 1.85 percent in 2020 to 42.69 million tons, equivalent to around 21.35 million tons. Its rice exports in 2020 were forecast to have dropped by 3.5 percent to 6.15 million tons.

Rice prices of India, the world's biggest rice exporter, were also increasing due to robust demand from Asian and African countries but remained very competitive due to ample stocks.

China, the world's biggest rice importer, bought Indian rice for the first time in at least three decades because of tightening supplies from Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar and sharply discounted prices.

India exported a record 14 million tons of rice in 2020.