Vietnam Rice Export Prices Steady Thursday

In Vietnam, prices were steady, despite the absence of many buyers in the market. Despite the thin trade, domestic prices were at lofty levels due to pending shipments bound mostly for Indonesia and the Philippines.  Vietnam's 5% broken was offered unchanged at $297-$300 PMT, FOB Ho Chi Minh City, while 25% broken was offered at $285 PMT. 
 
In other news, Indonesia has so far received 520,000 MT out of a total of 1.5 million MT of rice the country plans to import this year. A further 500,000 MT of rice will arrive by June. Indonesia's main rice harvest has begun in some areas, and higher stock levels from domestic paddy yields combined with the rice already imported will ensure rice prices in domestic markets remain "stable and manageable" for the next three months.

Indonesia ostensibly maintains a ban on rice imports, but the government frequently lifts the ban and mandates Bulog, its logistics agency, to procure imports if its stockpiles are depleted.