Weak Dollar Might Push Up Rice Prices: IRRI

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has expressed concerns as the weak US currency is expected to put fresh pressure on rice prices just a year after a global supply crunch caused the cereal to rocket above $1,000 PMT.

The Philippines-based research institute reported that there is a “sense of false comfort” as the price of the staple falls back to normal levels.

Exporters of lower grade rice “find it hard to look for markets” while the financial crisis has pinched credit and importers are taking a “cautious approach to stock-building,” it said.