Singapore, Oct 12 - The Philippines will kick off 2010 rice purchases two months earlier than normal after typhoons lashed crops in the world's biggest importer of the grain, with a tender for 250,000 tonnes planned for later this month.
Traders said the early start to a programme expected to eventually bring in 2 million tonnes is unlikely to have much impact on prices because of slack demand elsewhere. At most it will boost Vietnam's 25-percent broken grade, which is likely to win the bulk of the volume, they said.
The Philippines will hold the tender on Oct. 30, the government said on Monday, with a budget of 6.366 billion pesos ($136.8 million) or around $547 a tonne including cost and freight, for 25 percent brokens, long grain white rice.
The grain is scheduled for arrival between January and April 2010, the National Food Authority (NFA) said on its website. (www.nfa.gov.ph), with the most likely contenders Thailand and Vietnam, the world's top two exporters.
The 25 percent broken white rice was quoted at $350 a tonne in Vietnam and $420 a tonne in Thailand, both on a free-on-board basis, traders said.
"I expect Thai exporters could do at best around 50,000 tonnes," said one exporter in Bangkok.
Typhoons Ketsana and Parma left more than 600 people dead from landslides and massive floods in the Philippines, and also destroyed nearly 12 billion Philippine pesos ($258 million) worth of crops, mostly rice.
"It makes sense for the NFA to start buying now given the typhoon damage," said a Manila-based grains trader, adding the price ceiling was "workable and realistic."
The 2 million tonnes Manila is seeking for 2010 is up nearly 13 percent from this year's imports of 1.775 million tonnes, the bulk of which was supplied by Vietnam via an intergovernment deal.
Thailand is looking to regain market share after shipments dwindled to 80,000 tonnes in 2009 from more than 500,000 tonnes in 2008, the year when Philippine rice imports reached a record 2.3 million tonnes, helping lift prices to record levels.
CORN EXPORT ON HOLD
The NFA, which normally holds its first rice tender in December, is likely to open more tenders in the last two months of the year to ensure there will be ample supply during the first half of 2010, said Romeo Jimenez, director for marketing operations at the agency.
Government rice stocks, held through the NFA, stand at 1.2 million tonnes, or around 35 days consumption, he said.
The last tender for 75,000 tonnes of milled rice in July was eventually awarded to suppliers of Thai and Pakistani rice.
The Philippines is also putting off an earlier plan to export yellow corn since the typhoons hit key corn-growing areas as well.
"That is on hold because we're getting word that the feed millers are running out of corn stocks," said Jimenez.
Manila was earlier eyeing the export of up to 150,000 tonnes of yellow corn to trim excess supply, in what would have been its first overseas sales. ($1=46.52 Philippine Peso)