BANGKOK, 24 Mar 2014, Vietnam will likely drop its rice prices during the upcoming auction, in its bid to win Philippine deal, says the Thai Rice Exporters Association
Mr. Chukiat Opaswong, President of the Association, made the statement ahead of the Philippines’ bid to purchase 800,000 tons of rice soon. He predicted that Vietnam might offer its 25% white rice at 310 – 320 US dollars per ton, a sharp drop from the current price of 350 USD per ton quoted by both Vietnam itself and Thailand.
Thailand has not yet decided whether it will adjust the prices to compete with Vietnam, adding that the Philippines has yet to reveal the auction date.
Mr. Chukiat expressed his concern that Vietnam might win the auction, judging from the fact that the country has forged solid commercial relations with the Philippines in the past 3-4 years, giving the country the edge on other nations as it knows the in’s and out’s of the Philippines’ auction.
Vietnam has recently lost rice deals with China, Malaysia and Africa to Thailand, further pressuring the nation to resort to more desperate measures, said Chukiat.
