3rd February(Tuesday),2015 Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Pakistan Rice Sellers Lower Some of Their Quotes; Other Asia Rice Quotes Unchanged Today

Feb 02, 2015

Pakistan rice sellers lowered their quotes for 25% broken rice and 100% broken rice by about $10 per ton each to around $310 - $320 per ton and around $280 - $290 per ton respectively today. Other Asia rice sellers kept their quotes mostly unchanged.

5% Broken Rice

Thailand 5% rice is quoted at around $405 - $415 per ton, about $50 per ton premium on Vietnam 5% rice shown at around $355 - $365 per ton. India 5% rice is quoted at around $395 - $405 per ton, about $40 per ton premium on Pakistan 5% rice quoted at around $355 - $365 per ton.

25% Broken Rice 

Thailand 25% rice is quoted at around $365 - $375 per ton, about $40 per ton premium on Vietnam 25% rice shown at around $325- $335 per ton. India 25% rice is quoted at around $360 - $370, about $50 per ton premium on Pakistan 25% rice quoted at around $310 - $320 per ton, down about $10 per on from Friday.

Parboiled Rice

Thailand parboiled rice is quoted at around $410 - $420 per ton. India parboiled rice is quoted at around $390 - $400 per ton, about $10 per ton discount to Pakistan parboiled rice quoted at around $400 - $410 per ton.

100% Broken Rice

Thailand broken rice, A1 Super, is quoted at around $320 - $330 per ton, about $15 per ton premium on Vietnam 100% broken rice shown at around $305 - $315 per ton. India's 100% broken rice is shown at around $295 - $305 per ton,  about $15 per ton premium on Pakistan broken sortexed rice quoted at around $280 - $290 per ton, down about $10 per on from Friday.

Pakistan Should Frame Strategies to Clear About One Million Tons of Basmati Rice Stocks

Feb 02, 2015

Pakistan's basmati rice stocks have been increasing since 2011 due to increasing production and declining exports, according to local sources.The South Asian country has been consistently producing around one million tons of basmati rice annually, but is unable to export all the produced output due to a competition from India. Pakistan’s basmati rice exports have declined to around 630,035 tons in 2014 from around 968,941 tons in 2012 and from around one million tons in 2011. Local sources say the unsold stock is being accumulated as stocks. Currently, Pakistan has around 600,000 tons of basmati stocks and traders are expecting to add another 400,000 tons this year taking the stock level to about one million tons by the end of this year.

Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are biggest buyers of basmati rice in Asia. However, Pakistan’s share of rice exports to these countries has been declining due to various reasons. Therefore, Pakistan is urged to frame strategies to increase exports to these countries in order to clear the surplus stocks. Experts say the Ministries of Food Security and Research, Finance and Commerce as well as local governments and stakeholders should work together through mutual cooperation, understanding and policy development.

Necessary action is called for keeping in view the amount of foreign exchange earned by basmati rice exports and the role played by them in ensuring food security in the country.An official from the Paksitan Basmati Growers Association (BGA) noted in an email to Oryza that the government has been failing to tap the earning potential worth billions of dollars from basmati rice exports, while it falls short of funds for developmental activities. He also noted that the Institutions meant for the purpose are not getting enough encouragement from the government and consequently farmers are suffering with poor incomes and living standards. 

South Korea May Face Rice Oversupply in 2015, Say Agriculture Ministry Officials

Feb 02, 2015

South Korea is likely to face an oversupply of rice this year due to an expected increase in production and a decline in consumption, according to the Agriculture Ministry officials.The Ministry sources told local media reporters that this year, the country is likely to reach about 97% self-sufficiency in rice production and the Southeast Asian nation's 2015 rice output may exceed last year's production of about 4.24 million tons.

However, the country's consumption needs have been declining since last few years. Korea's annual consumption has fell below 4 million tons last year, according to the Agriculture Ministry. According to data from Statistics Korea, per capital rice consumption in South Korea fell to all time low of about 65.1 kilograms in 2014, down about 3% from around 67.2 kilograms in 2013 due to people preferring other non-rice alternatives. The Ministry sources are expecting the consumption levels to fall further this year.Added to the increase in production, the government's obligation to import around 408,700 tons of rice (about 9% of its annual consumption needs) under WTO rules is likely to further increase rice supply in the country.

The government decided to open its rice import market from the beginning of this year to particularly deal with this situation as another waiver from the WTO would have increased the country's obligatory rice imports under the WTO rules. The government will impose a tariff of 513% on imports over and above its obligatory import volume of around 408,700 tons.a

Oryza U.S. Rough Rice Recap - Prices Continue to Steadily Decline amid Limited Buying Interest

Feb 02, 2015

The U.S. cash market continued its steady price decline today with prices at the farm gate sinking roughly $0.30 per cwt (about $7 per ton) amid limited demand and increased sell interest.Analysts note that without fresh demand most buyers are well covered at least through February however many sellers are hoping to move their rice this month and some are willing to take lower prices to do so. 

Thailand Plans to Slash Rice Production to Manage Surplus and Boost Prices

Feb 02, 2015

Thailand's military-led government is planning to reduce paddy rice production to about 33.73 million tons by 2016-17, down about 4% from an average of about 35.11 million tons over the last six years to manage surplus rice stocks and boost prices, which have declined significantly since the begnning of 2013, according to Bloomberg.The government is planning to encourage rice farmers to quit rice cultivation and adopt cultivation of crops like sugarcane or mixed farming with livestock, according to the Vice-Minister for farming. He noted that the government is planning to provide incentives including soft loans to move away from rice farming.

The Vice-Minister also noted that over the next two years, the government is planning to shift about 112,000 hectares of rice land to sugarcane and about 176,000 hectares to mixed farming. The government is also planning to eliminate rice planting in dry season across 64,000 hectares of land.

The government wants rice production to be just equal to projected local consumption and export needs. It aims to cut down the surplus (the excess of output over local demand and export needs) to just 200,000 tons by 2019-2020 from an expected 1.1 million tons in 2016-17. However, the government's plan is to be approved by the Rice Policy Committee.Export prices of Thai 5% broken rice declined about 5% to around $405 per ton from about $425 per ton in the beginning of 2014. They declined about 26% from about $550 per ton in the beginning of 2013. Similarly, export prices of Thai 100% broken rice declined about 3% from January 2014 and about 25% from around $435 per ton in January 2013.The government is currently keen on selling the 17 million stocks accumulated from the rice pledging scheme introduced by the previous government.

The Nan Model: New Hope for Thai Rice Farmers

Feb 02, 2015

The "sufficiency economy philosophy" initiative undertaken by the Pid Thong Lang Phra (doing good without any intention of getting anything back) foundation in the Nan province of Northern Thailand has raised hope for several rice farmers, who have to often bear losses in rice cultivation due to droughts and unavailability of water.The initiative, sponsored by the King, aims to tackle the problems of deforestation, flooding and poverty. It also aims to promote reforestation and crop diversity to maintain soil quality. Under this initiative, the project and the farmers communities jointly work to develop requisite water facilities.

The first phase of the project was implemented in the three districts of Song Khwer, The Wang Pha and Chalerm Prakiat covering around 40,000 hectares and about 8,588 farmers. Three weirs covering around 6,676 hectares were planned during the first phase to ensure adequate water supply for the farmers.

The project is now building 420 weirs worth 200 million baht (around $6.1 million) covering around 16,000 hectares in Nan. They are scheduled to be complete by April/May this year.The Nan project helped farmers to earn more income, repay their debts and rehabilitate the forests. The secretary-general of the Pid Thong Lang Phra project noted that Nan model well suited for sufficiency economy development and forest rehabilitation. He also told local sources that the project is calling for support from big business houses to create a fund as well as educate farmers on how to increase quality and productivity.

The government is planning to implement the project in 19,000 other villages and the Agricultural Ministry will oversee the project while the Industry and Commerce Ministries will involve in marketing of the agricultural products and expanding market access.  

Global Rice Quotes

February 3rd, 2015

Long grain white rice - high quality

Thailand 100% B grade           415-425           ↔

Vietnam 5% broken     355-365           ↔

India 5% broken          395-405           ↔

Pakistan 5% broken     355-365           ↔

Myanmar 5% broken   410-420           ↔

Cambodia 5% broken 440-450           ↔

U.S. 4% broken           495-505           ↔

Uruguay 5% broken    NQ       ↔

Argentina 5% broken   NQ       ↔

Long grain white rice - low quality

Thailand 25% broken 365-375           ↔

Vietnam 25% broken   325-335           ↔

Pakistan 25% broken   310-320           ↔

Cambodia 25% broken            420-430           ↔

India 25% broken        360-370           ↔

U.S. 15% broken         485-495           ↔

Long grain parboiled rice

Thailand parboiled 100% stxd             405-415           ↓

Pakistan parboiled 5% broken stxd      400-410           ↔

India parboiled 5% broken stxd           390-400           ↔

U.S. parboiled 4% broken       550-560           ↔

Brazil parboiled 5% broken     570-580           ↔

Uruguay parboiled 5% broken             NQ       ↔

Long grain fragrant rice

Thailand Hommali 92%           925-935           ↔

Vietnam Jasmine         450-460           ↓

India basmati 2% broken         NQ       ↔

Pakistan basmati 2% broken    NQ       ↔

Cambodia Phka Mails 785-795           ↔

Brokens

Thailand A1 Super       320-330           ↔

Vietnam 100% broken             305-315           ↔

Pakistan 100% broken stxd     280-290           ↔

Cambodia A1 Super    350-360           ↔

India 100% broken stxd          295-305           ↔

Egypt medium grain brokens   NQ       ↔

U.S. pet food   405-415           ↔

Brazil half grain           NQ       ↔

All prices USD per ton, FOB vessel, oryza.com

USDA Post Estimates South Korea to Import 560,000 Tons of Rice in MY 2014-15

Feb 02, 2015

The USDA Post has estimated South Korea to import around 560,000 tons of rice in MY 2014-15 (November - October), including 408,000 tons of rice imports under the WTO's Minimum Market Agreement (MMA) quota in the 2015 calendar year.South Korea plans to complete its 2015 rice imports under the 2015 Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) purchasing plan between January - October 2015 through public open tenders. The delivery is expected to be done by December 31, 2015.In 2015, the Post expects imports from the U.S. at around 150,000, including 34,000 tons from the 2014 MMA.

South Korea imported around 313,419 tons of rice in MY 2013-14, including 122,574 tons of rice imports under the 2013 MMA quota and around 190,845 tons under the 2014 MMA quota. USDA Post estimates South Korea's 2014 (January - December) imports at around 379,000 tons, down about 35% from an estimated 580,000 tons in 2013.

The Post estimates South Korea to produce around 4.24 million tons of milled rice in MY 2014-15, slightly up from an estimated 4.23 million tons in MY 2013-14. It expects the country's MY 2014-15 consumption to decline to around 4.356 million tons, down about 2% from an estimated 4.434 million tons in MY 2013-14.The country's ending stocks are estimated to increase to around 1.33 million tons in MY 2014-15, up about 50% from an estimated 887,000 tons in 2013-14 due to an increase in supply from production and imports and a decline in consumption.

Vietnam Exports About 169,358 Tons of Rice During January 1–29, 2015

Feb 01, 2015

Vietnam exported about 169,358 tons of rice in January 1-29, 2015, down about 45% from about 307,255 million tons of rice exported in full month of January 2014 and down about 64% from about 472,575 tons of rice exported in full month of December 2014, according to data from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA). Average rice export price so far in this month stands at about $457 per ton (FOB), up about 10% per ton from same time last year and down about 4% from last month.

Vietnam Agrees to Export 240,000 Tons of Rice to Malaysia

Feb 01, 2015

Vietnam has agreed to export about 240,000 tons of 5% broken rice to Malaysia between April - November 2015, Reuters quoted a state-run newspaper as saying.The price of the deal has not been disclosed, according to some exporters. However, they have estimated the deal to be struck at around $385 per ton (FOB). The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has not commented on the deal, according to Reuters.

Traders say the deal may not have a significant impact on global rice export prices, which have been declining for the past few months. Vietnam is hopeful of winning the Philippines contract for 500,000 tons for delivery between March and May 2015.Vietnam's 5% broken rice price stood at around $360 per ton towards the end of last week, compared to around $405 per ton on Thai 5% rice, around $400 per ton of India 5% rice, around $415 per ton of Myanmar 5% rice and around $360 per ton of Pakistan 5% rice.

Experts are expecting a tough year for Vietnamese rice exports due to a stiff competition this year from Thailand, India and Pakistan. With concerns over weak export demand, last month, Vietnam has cut floor prices of 10%, 15% and 25% broken rice to about $375 per ton, $365 per ton and $360 per ton respectively.Meanwhile, output from Vietnam's main winter-spring crop harvest is likely to reach around 5 million tons, basis paddy (around 3.125 million tons of milled rice), and most of it is meant for exports.

All contents have been published with permission of ORYZA.com

Malaysia is the third biggest export destination for Vietnam after the Philippines and China. Vietnam exported around 470,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia in 2014, up 1.5% from around 463,054 tons exported in 2013.USDA estimates Vietnam to export around 6.7  million tons of rice in 2015, up about 3% from around 6.5 million tons exported in 2014.

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3rd February (Tuesday),2015 Daily  Exclusive ORYZA Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine