Indonesia's Bulog tenders for 340,000 mt of 5% white rice as Asian prices fall

Indonesia’s state-owned purchasing agency Bulog announced its ninth tender of the year Oct. 21, seeking to buy 340,000 mt of 5% broken white rice milled no more than six months previously, according to an official invitation sent to select suppliers and seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Bulog's announcement came as Asian rice prices across origins have weakened after India lifted its ban on non-basmati white rice exports.

Bulog aims to procure white rice from India, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or Pakistan for delivery from November to Dec. 20, according to the notification released by Indonesia’s national agricultural agency.

In its previous tender, results for which were released on Sept. 25, Bulog awarded a total of 450,000 mt of white rice to suppliers from Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand. Prices ranged from $539.34/mt to $574/mt CNF, with Myanmar submitting the lowest bid and Thailand the highest, trade sources said.

Suppliers in Pakistan won eight out of the total 15 lots for 238,100 mt of 5% broken WR. Myanmar secured four lots totaling 121,100 mt, while Vietnam won two lots for the shipment of 59,000 mt. Thailand clinched a single lot to supply 31,800 mt of rice.

Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed Vietnamese 5% broken WR at $529/mt FOB Oct. 21, unchanged on the week; Thai 5% broken WR at $509/mt FOB Oct. 21, down $1 on the week; and Pakistani 5% broken WR at $470/mt FOB Oct. 21, down $5 on the week.

The Indonesian state purchasing agency has set an import quota of 3.6 million mt for 2024 against last year's 3.8 million mt.

In calendar year 2024, Indonesia has issued nine tenders so far, purchasing 2.6 million mt of rice in the first eight.

It is possible that the full quota will be utilized, as dry conditions attributed to the El Nino weather pattern have delayed harvests, threatening to slash Indonesian output and tightening global rice supplies, market sources said.

Commodity Insights analysts forecast that Indonesia's rice production will return to more normal levels of 34-34.5 million mt in marketing year 2024-25, while the US Department of Agriculture projects it to be at 34 million mt.