The only activity involved state exporters clearing shipments that comprised part of a government-to-government contract with Indonesia, they said.

Vietnam's highest grade rice, five percent broken, was quoted at $265-270 per tonne, FOB Saigon Port, against last week's $270-272, traders said.

Quotations for 10 and 25 percent broken grades were put at $265 and $245-250 a tonne, respectively. "Even with our lower prices buyers are not making any solid deals," said a rice trader in southern Ho Chi Minh City. "Thai rice prices went up a bit but they are still attracting buyers."

One rice dealer said Thai five percent broken grade rice was being quoted at around $270. He said Vietnam would only strike new deals if quotations were $10-20 per tonne lower than prices for Thai rice, which is generally of better quality. Thai 100percent white B grade was quoted earlier this week at around $280 a tonne, FOB Bangkok.

Traders said Vietnam was expected to sell more rice to the Philippines but one trader said shipments would probably not take place until early next year. Despite the Vietnamese view that Thai rice had become highly competitive, a Bangkok trader said on Thursday that Thailand had lost a Philippines contract to Vietnam or Myanmar because Thai prices were not keen enough.

A senior government official told Reuters last week in Manila that the Philippines was in talks to buy about 650,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand, China and Vietnam to build a buffer stock on prospects of a shortage due to the La Nina weather pattern. The Ho Chi Minh City-based trader said state-run Southern Food Company (Vinafood 2) was negotiating with the Philippines on the purchase of at least 150,000 tonnes of rice.

"More rice may be sold to Manila...," he said, adding no concrete result had been reached. Vinafood 2 officials were notavailable for comment. This week eight vessels were reported loading more than 85,000 tonnes of rice destined for countries including Indonesia and Iraq. Vietnam, one of the world's largest exporters of rice, expects to ship around 3.8 million tonnes this year, which would be an 8.5 percent increase from total exports of the staple in `97.