Rice

Indian FOB for 1121 steam in the month of April moved firm from last month and currently is in the range of USD 1229-1230/MT which is up by 7.5% from last month price of USD 1143/T. Average basmati rice price too firmed this month with higher demand and lower stocks. However, from last one week prices traded weak due to profit booking by traders. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Currently Pakistani basmati FOB is also moving firmer from last seven months due to lower production estimates and now it is hovering in the range of USD 1203-1205/MT which is also up by 11.66% from last month FOB of USD 1078/MT.

Rice output in the state is now estimated at 8.32 million tonne, against earlier projections of 8.49 million tonne. The estimate is still higher than last year output of 6.80 million tonne.

Karnataka aims to produce 3.1 million tonne of rice in 2017, up from 2.6 million tonne in the previous year.

Non-basmati variety Permal Raw was quoted down 75 rupees per 100 kg from previous close. And the steam variety of basmati rice of PUSA 1121 was unchanged.

Prices of rice basmati drifted lower at the wholesale grains market on tepid demand against sufficient stocks position. Sluggish demand from retailers weighed on rice basmati prices.

Sowing area under basmati paddy is likely to increase by 25% in 2017 on the back of favourable climatic conditions and forecast of normal rainfall this monsoon season.

Egypt, traditionally a rice exporter, has contracted to purchase 20,000 tonnes of Indian rice as per a cabinet statement on 03 May. Egypt govt statement did not explain why it had contracted to buy the rice. But in December, govt said it would import rice after cancelling a tender to buy locally produced rice when the bidding companies all offered higher prices than the govt had asked for. Egypt rice paddy production is estimated at 5.1 million metric tonnes in 2016 versus annual consumption of about 3.95 million tonnes, said USDA.

Iran is likely to produce 22.5 MMT of rice in 2017 compared to 21 MMT in 2016. For meeting its additional requirements of Basmati rice Iran depends on imports. The increase in production over the years is continuously reducing its dependency on imports. Iran imported 14.40 LMT in 2013-14, 9.66 LMT in 2014-15, 6.95 LMT in 2015-16 and 5.50 LMT during the first ten months of 2016-17 (April 2016 to January 2017) from India. It is estimated that in fiscal year 2016-17 Iran is likely to import 6.50 LMT of basmati rice from India. Therefore, Iran demand of basmati rice is likely to fall in coming year because increase in production.

To help meet national demand of around 5.2m tonnes in 2016, Nigeria imported 2.3m tonnes of rice last year, according to the UNs Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). This heavy reliance on external sources has seen Nigeria – currently the world second-largest importer of the grain after China – import around 17m tonnes of rice in the last five years, with the country spending an average of $5m per day on shipments of the grain, Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, told international media earlier this year.

Chhattisgarh government has set a rice production target of 8.2 million tonne for 2017-18 (Jul-Jun), up 2% on year, Chhattisgarh is one of the largest rice producing states in the country and the grain accounts for the bulk of state kharif food grain output.

The IGC has kept the forecast for global rice output unchanged from previous month at 487 million tonne. The production estimate is higher than 483 million tonne produced in 2016-17.

Rice basmati prices dipped by rupees 100 per quintal at the wholesale grains market owing to slackened demand. Muted demand from retailers against ample stocks position led to decline in rice basmati prices. In the national capital, rice basmati Pusa-1121 variety fell by rupees 100 per quintal.