India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted around $376-$383 per tonne this week, compared with $378-$384 last week. Export prices in India shot up in the second half of last month after the central state of Chhattisgarh, a leading rice producer, raised the minimum paddy buying price. In neighbouring Bangladesh, rice imports slowed to 106,000 tonnes in July-December due to the imposition of a tax in June, data from the food ministry showed. The country imported a record 3.9 million tonnes of rice in the last financial year that ended in June 2018.
The south Asian country, which emerged as a major importer of the grain in 2017 after floods damaged crops, imposed a 28 percent duty to support its farmers after local production revived.
In Thailand, benchmark 5-percent broken rice was quoted at $380-$400 per tonne, free on board Bangkok, slightly widening from $380-$390 last week as the baht strengthened against the dollar.