RICE: WORLD MARKETS AND TRADE

International:  Quotes for Thai 100B shot up $83 this month to $611 per ton, FOB.  Even more dramatic, Vietnamese quotes spiked $111 (over 25 percent) on the announcement of several large tenders by the Philippines.  Although quotes for all origins are up, and the gap between Vietnamese and Thai or U.S. rice is rapidly closing, there are few private sales as traders wait for prices to settle. 

Domestic:  U.S. #2/4 long grain milled rice quotes jumped $44 to $555 per ton, FOB, based on the international market situation.  This contrasts sharply with California medium grain #1/4 quotes, which slid another $15 to $775 per ton, FOB, on the large domestic harvest.  Since June, the gap between these quotes has shrunk by two-thirds, from $680 to $220 per ton. 

TRADE CHANGES  

• Argentina’s 2009 exports are raised by 100,000 tons to a 10-year high of 600,000 on newly-released trade data. 

• Brazil’s 2009 exports are bumped by 200,000 tons to a record 650,000 on large October shipments.  Imports are also raised by 80,000 tons to 550,000 on import data.     

• China’s 2010 exports are increased 200,000 tons to 1.5 million on large production combined with large stocks and relatively high world prices. 

• India’s 2010 exports are boosted 500,000 tons to 2.0 million on larger Middle Eastern demand for basmati.  Imports for 2009 are reduced to zero. 

• Libya’s 2009 and 2010 imports are slashed by 150,000 tons and 170,000 tons to a mere 50,000 as Egypt’s export restrictions have reduced traditionally available supplies.

• Thailand’s 2009 exports are raised 100,000 tons to 8.6 million on shipments to date.  Imports for 2010 are bumped from nearly zero to 300,000 tons based on the continuation of cross-border trade with Cambodia.