Commodity Online
NEW DELHI: Vietnam’s plan to impose export duty on rice triggered a price rise in international market with the commodity gaining around 3 per cent.

At its weekly price-setting meeting, the Thai Rice Exporters Association quoted a median price of $750 per tonne, up from $730 last week but still well below the record of $1,080 set in April. It was the third straight week that prices rose.

Vietnam’s government said it planned to impose export duties on rice of up to $176 per tonne, which would push its rice export prices up to a range of $800 to $1,300 depending on the grade.

Thai rice prices could rise another 10% next week if the Vietnam tax measure takes effect.

The price of Thai 100 per cent B grade white rice RI-THWHB-P1 rose 2.7 percent on Wednesday from last week.

Exporters said prices were also supported by a Thai government rice-buying programme and steady demand from Nigeria.

Meanwhile, middlemen are stockpiling rice in a deliberate effort to drive up prices in Bahrain.

Small wholesalers are said to be the culprits, buying up excess rice after importers have completed their deliveries of advance orders.

The middlemen then store it before selling it on for profit to smaller retail outlets such as cold stores.

One importer has already limited the amount of rice it sells to small wholesalers, while another says it only deals with supermarkets and hypermarkets in an effort to curb the practice.

Rice prices in Bahrain have already risen by more than 50 per cent since last July as a result of inflation in rice producing countries, along with increasing costs of freight, fuel, a shortage of food containers and the weak dollar.

Rice is the best commodity to bet on these days. You can be sure that the price of rice will now only go up and not fall.