Key takeaways:

• Export Prices: Indian 5% broken parboiled rice is $333-$340/ton, and 5% broken white rice is $335-$340/ton, remaining unchanged despite being the lowest among major exporters.
• Currency Pressure: The rupee hit a record low, affected by high oil prices and capital outflows, impacting export competitiveness.
• Global Market Trends: – Vietnam’s rice at $395-$400/ton, with concerns over the Philippines’ price ceiling. – Thailand’s rice rose to $415/ton, driven by millers holding back sales. – Bangladesh faces price spikes due to heavy pre-monsoon rains.

Indian rice export prices were little changed this week, pressured by sluggish demand from buyers in Africa amid a depreciation of the rupee to a record low.

India’s 5% broken ‌parboiled variety was quoted ⁠this ⁠week at $333-$340 per ton, unchanged from last week. Indian 5% broken white rice was priced at $335 to $340 per ton this week.

Indian prices are the lowest among key rice exporting countries but still export demand is not picking up, said a New Delhi-based trader.

The rupee fell to an all-time low, pressured by stubbornly high oil prices and persistent portfolio outflows that have strained the current and capital balances of Asia’s third-largest economy.

Vietnam’s 5% broken rice was offered ⁠at $395-$400 per ‌metric ton on Thursday, unchanged from a week ago.

“Domestic supplies are getting thinner, but we are concerned about the Philippines’ move to impose a ⁠ceiling price on imported rice,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

“The Philippines remains Vietnam’s key rice buyer and any move it makes will have an impact,” the trader added.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s 5% broken rice was quoted at $415 per ton on Thursday, rising from $404-$405 quoted last week.

Traders said the price increase was driven mainly by millers holding back sales amid firmer domestic sentiment.

Demand remains relatively quiet, with no major deals reported, although regular customers from Hong Kong and African markets ‌continued to place small orders, a Bangkok-based trader added.

Supply conditions in Thailand were largely unchanged, as the new crop is currently being planted during this period and the market is waiting to ⁠see the size of the upcoming harvest in the coming months.

In Bangladesh, rice prices have remained elevated as heavy pre-monsoon rains threaten to wipe out more than 200,000 metric tons of rice, raising fears of further increases.

Elsewhere, BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, on Wednesday noted that it expects the global rice market to largely remain in surplus through to 2030, although weather-related volatility will continue to pose downside risks to output in individual seasons.

Published Date: May 16, 2026