Transporting rice at a warehouse in Srinagar, India. Photo: AFP/TTXVN
Asian Rice Market:
The 5% broken parboiled rice from India was offered at $546 – $554 per ton this week, up from $542 – $550 per ton last week.
An exporter in Kolkata said that rice demand has been better this week compared to the previous week. Indian rice is still cheaper than rice from other places.
The 5% broken rice from Vietnam was offered at $625 – $630 per ton, down from $637 – $640 per ton a week ago. A trader in Ho Chi Minh City said that supply has increased as the Dong-Xuan crop is in the harvest stage. This is also considered the largest harvest of the year.
Some traders said they are slowing down the pace of buying paddy from farmers due to the prediction that domestic prices will continue to decline.
The 5% broken rice from Thailand was quoted at $615 per ton, slightly up from $610 per ton last week. Traders believe that the price increase is due to the baht’s volatility, while demand remains weak and no major transactions are taking place. They also note that new supply is expected to gradually be added to the market next month.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh may import 500,000 tons of rice by June 2024 to cool down domestic rice prices. Earlier this month, the Bangladesh Government reduced the rice import tax from 63% to 15%.
U.S. Agricultural Market:
Commodity prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dropped in the session on February 23, led by corn.
At the close, the May 2024 corn futures decreased by 5 cents (1.19%) to $4.135 per bushel. May 2024 wheat futures dropped 10.25 cents (1.77%) to $5.69 per bushel. May 2024 soybean futures fell 10.75 cents (0.93%) to $11.4175 per bushel. (1 bushel of wheat/soybean = 27.2 kg; 1 bushel of corn = 25.4 kg).
The decline in wheat futures price was due to profit-taking activities.
A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that sales figures reached 8.6 million bushels of wheat, 32.3 million bushels of corn, and 2.1 million bushels of soybeans. All sales figures were lower than expected.
Global Coffee Market:
At the end of the week’s trading session, Robusta coffee prices on the ICE Europe – London continued to decline. March 2024 Robusta coffee decreased by $127 to $3,047 per ton, and May 2024 Robusta coffee dropped an additional $83 to $3,030 per ton. The trading volume remained relatively high, above average.
Similarly, Arabica coffee prices on the ICE US – New York also continued to decline. May 2024 Arabica coffee decreased by 2.85 cents to 180.30 cents per pound, and July 2024 Arabica coffee dropped by 3.05 cents to 179.05 cents per pound. (1 lb = 0.4535 kg). The trading volume was very high, above average.
The green coffee prices in the Central Highlands provinces decreased by 1,000 – 1,200 VND, ranging from 80,800 VND to 81,500 VND per kg.
According to observers, the continued decline in coffee prices is partly due to strong selling pressure from Brazil, as the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter is about to enter the new crop harvest of the 2024/2025 season.
In addition, Vietnam’s coffee exports in January 2024 increased by 67.45% compared to the same period last year, which also caused pressure, as funds have aggressively liquidated, despite concerns that supply is being tightened due to international maritime transport issues and increasing global demand.
