Bangkok, Oct 29 - Thailand's benchmark rice price fell another 8 percent on Wednesday, dropping under $600 a tonne for the first time in seven months as demand remained thin and buyers turned to cheaper produce from Vietnam, exporters said.
The median price for 100 percent B grade white rice quoted by Bangkok exporters fell to $580 per tonne from last week's $630, they said.
The price was around $624 per tonne in March and then it soared to a record high of $1,080 in April as countries around the world got into a panic about food security.
"The market is very quiet. Everyone is buying cheaper rice from Vietnam," one exporter said.
The Thai government has said it would buy paddy from farmers at 12,000 baht per tonne, a level that would give an export price of around $630 a tonne, but the intervention scheme is not due to start until Nov. 1.
On Tuesday Vietnam cut the minimum price at which it allows exporters to sell rice by nearly a quarter as the world's second-biggest supplier succumbed to the reality of a sharply falling global market.
The Vietnam Food Association cut the floor for 5 percent broken rice by 23 percent to $500 a tonne and that on 25 percent broken rice by 30 percent to $410 a tonne, free on board.
Traders said the move would add to the pressure on Thailand, the world's top exporter, which is struggling to keep its market share while the government maintains its price support scheme.