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BANGKOK, Oct 13 (Reuters): Thai rice prices are likely to hold steady over the next few days, despite thin overseas demand, as domestic supply is tight in the run-up to the harvest season, traders said yesterday.
"The market is dead, nothing is happening. Buyers have been buying elsewhere such as South America, India and Pakistan," said one trader.
Thai 100 per cent parboiled rice grade was steady at $290 per tonne, free-on-board, FOB, Wednesday from a week earlier, with Indian parboiled grade at $264 per tonne RICE/ASIA1 .
Rice from South America landed in West African countries was $10-20 per tonne cheaper than Thai rice shipped there, traders said.
Traders said domestic supply would remain tight over the next few weeks as farmers would not start harvesting the main crop until early November.
The Agriculture Ministry estimates the crop at 21.27 million tonnes of paddy, up 14 per cent from the previous crop due to favourable weather and good prices.
Despite thin overseas demand, several exporting firms were seeking to buy rice in the domestic market to fulfil contracts, traders said.
The domestic price of parboiled rice grade was up 100 baht at 11,100 baht a tonne ($271) from last week's 11,000 baht.
Domestic prices should hold steady even as the harvest begins because the government will start buying rice from farmers early next month to keep them up, traders said.
Between Jan. 1 and Sep 26, Thailand exported 5.36 million tonnes of rice, 32 per cent less than the 7.07 million tonnes shipped in the same period last year.
It exported a record 10.13 million tonnes last year, up from 7.58 million tonnes in 2003.
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