rice fell for a third straight week Wednesday to $700 per ton due to thin demand, exporters said.
buyers were buying steadily but in small amounts as global rice prices were expected to fall further due to rising supplies in major producing countries.
Deflation is coming
Thai rice price falls to $700 a ton
Benchmark Thai rice price falls to $700 a ton
Reuters
First Posted 13:48:00 08/13/2008
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The price of Thai 100-percent B-grade white rice fell for a third straight week Wednesday to $700 per ton due to thin demand, exporters said.
The median price quoted by Bangkok exporters was 1.4 percent lower than last week's $710 per ton and well below the record high of $1,080 per ton marked in April.
"Demand remained thin, but the price could stay around $700 for around a month as the government intervention scheme is still in place," one exporter said.
The government is paying farmers 14,000 baht ($417) per ton for paddy rice, equivalent to around $700 per ton of milled rice, in a bid to support domestic prices during the months of July-September when supply usually peaks. The buying program is due to end in September.
Exporters said buyers were buying steadily but in small amounts as global rice prices were expected to fall further due to rising supplies in major producing countries.
"Our sales dropped to around 500 tons per lot, compared to 5,000-10,000 tons in previous months," another exporter said.
According to Agriculture Ministry data, Thailand produced a record 8.8 million tons of paddy this year in its second crop, above a forecast 7.6 million, as farmers rushed to grow more rice after prices surged in April.
The government has forecast the main crop, to be harvested in November, would be 23.8 million tons, little changed from 23.3 million tons the previous year.
Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, is aiming to ship up to 10 million tons in 2008, slightly below the record 10.13 million tons in 2004 and 9.5 million tons in 2007. It has sold 6.7 million tons of rice so far this year.
($1=33.60 Baht) |
