SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Asian grain prices are expected to stay mixed in
coming days with Chicago Board of Trade contracts possibly finding mild support
from weakness in the dollar, though a generally weak physical supply and demand
outlook is likely to cap the upside.

  The outlook for rice prices, however, continues to lean towards the bearish
side, market observers said Wednesday.

  On Tuesday, CBOT May rice ended down 24 1/2 cents at $12.44 per
hundredweight, as traders continued to focus on weak fundamentals.

  "The focus for CBOT rice is still on $12 (a Jan. 30 low) as the next major
support, though that level is starting to look fragile," said a trader in
Tokyo.

  Observers said the upside potential for CBOT rice appears limited, with
concern over high government intervention stocks in Thailand and the
possibility that India will lift its long-term export ban expected to continue
weighing on sentiment.

  Meanwhile, a Vietnam government forecast Wednesday suggesting a sharp
increase in Vietnam's 2009 rice exports may add to the already bearish mood,
analysts said.

  Vietnam's rice exports are estimated to have risen 71.3% from the same period
a year earlier to 1.743 million metric tons in the first quarter of this year.
The country will export 700,000 tons in March, valued at $315 million, up 25.4%
on year in volume and 23.5% in value, the government's General Statistical
Office said.

  India's rice production is also expected to reach a record 99 million metric
tons in 2009, industry officials said.

  As of March 1, India had stocks of 21.26 million tons of rice, and wheat
stocks of 15.28 million tons. Already grappling with overflowing granaries, the
country is expected to produce 78 million tons of wheat in the crop year to
June 2009.

  The Indian government is expected to lift a ban on wheat exports after the
April-May federal elections, as there is no space to store the new crop which
is being harvested now, government and industry officials said.

  "Exports are inevitable, otherwise there will be huge wastage," a senior
government official, who did not wish to be identified, told Dow Jones
Newswires.

  CBOT wheat futures dipped Tuesday, weighed down by a generally bearish demand
outlook and forecasts for rain in the dry U.S. hard-red-winter-wheat belt.

  "(CBOT) wheat will stay on the defensive as long as demand stays limp (and)
world supplies stay ample," said John Kleist, broker and analyst for Allendale.

  CBOT corn futures also drifted lower Tuesday, with the May contract down 1
3/4 cents at $3.93 3/4 per bushel, amid downward pressure from wheat, traders
in the U.S. said.

  In China, however, corn prices in major producing regions rose in the week to
Wednesday, as supply tightened along with a seasonal hike in consumption.

  "After March, corn prices usually increase as old stocks are depleted with
the onset of warmer weather," said Knag Zhichao of Nashua Futures.

  In the Harbin area of Heliographing province, a major production base in
China's northeast, corn prices were around CNY1,180 a metric ton, CNY20/ton
higher than a week earlier.

  China's February corn imports rose 92% on year to 279 tons, while exports
fell 91% on year in the same month.

  Amid tightening supply, industrial processing plants in Jilting province are
trying to buy more corn to process, and feed meal companies are moving to
replenish stocks. The combination of factors is expected to push corn prices
higher in coming weeks, analysts said.

  CBOT soybean futures rose Tuesday with the May contract ending the day 11 1/2
cents higher at $9.67, supported by concerns that a lingering Argentina
farmer's strike could further tighten U.S. 2008-09 stocks.