Global Rice Market

Global rice production is expected to increase by 1.8 per cent – or 12 million tones – this year, easing a tight supply situation in key cultivating countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

Assuming normal weather conditions, sizable production increases are expected in all the major Asian rice-producing countries – Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand, where supply and demand are currently rather stretched.

“The international rice market is currently facing a particularly difficult situation with demand outstripping supply and substantial price increases,” said FAO Senior Economist Concepcion Calpe.

She added that higher rice production in 2008 could reduce the pressure, but short-term volatility will probably continue, given the very limited supplies available from stocks. “This implies that the market may react very strongly to any good or bad news about crops or policies,” she stated.

Production is also expected