Gold Silver Reports — Sharp decline in demand and overseas competition are expected to hit into Vietnam and India rice exports. The latest report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) India and Vietnam, the worlds leading rice exporters, may see overseas sales fall below previously expected levels due to slowing demand and rising competition from China.
Indias rice exports year could fall by 300,000 tons to only 10 million tons on slower pace and stronger competition in West Africa, the USDA said in its March report, putting it on a par with shipments expected from Thailand.
It more than doubled its forecast for Chinas rice exports this year to 500,000 tons from 225,000 tons, the report said, citing rising sales in East Asia and West Africa.
The USDA also cut Vietnams rice export forecast by 3.6 percent to 5.6 million tons this year, citing reduced trade to Southeast Asia and Africa.With the lower projections, India and Thailand will share the worlds largest rice exporter title this year, followed by Vietnam and Pakistan. Last year, India was the worlds biggest rice exporter, followed by Thailand.
Vietnams rice exports in the first two months of this year fell 23.5 percent from the same period in 2016 to 738,000 tons, based on data from Vietnam Customs released this week.Rice exports in the two-month month period brought in US$314 million, 24.7 percent below the corresponding period in 2016, data showed. — Neal Bhai Reports
