Global Prices Likely To Remain At Higher Levels

According to a latest report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), rice market fundamentals are likely to continue its upward trend and any respite from firm prices anytime soon is quite unlikely.

Prices are expected to make further inroads, especially after several countries took action either to restrict exports or to facilitate imports, experts at the agency pointed out. Export prices that began to escalate in the last quarter of 2007 are expected to continue their northward journey in the first quarter of 2008.

Prospects for the next few months point to further price gains at least until March 2008 when new rice supplies will become available.

FAO forecast of world rice trade in 2008 is 30.2 million MT, 1 % higher than in 2007 (29.9 MT which itself was 2.4 % higher than 29.2 MT in 2006).