Dear Subscriber,
We are pleased to send you the new issue of the FAO Rice Price Update:
Brief commentary:
ˇ In August 2013, the FAO Rice Price Index (2002-2004=100) dropped by about 3 percent to a value of 234. The weakness was most apparent for Indica rice, with the higher and lower qualities retreating by 3 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The slide in prices was less marked for Aromatic rice, which fell by 1 percent, while Japonica rice quotations were virtually unchanged.
ˇ Export prices faltered in virtually all origins, but especially in India and Thailand, following the release of supplies from government stocks and depreciating currencies against the US dollar. However, prices were also down in the United States and Pakistan, while they firmed in Viet Nam, which nonetheless remained the cheapest source of supplies.
ˇ Based on the FAO Index, average export prices in the first eight months of 2013 stood 1 percent above their corresponding average in 2012, with fragrant rice quotations up 23 percent year-on-year.
For more information on prices, you may wish to consult the International Commodity Price Database http://www.fao.org/economic/est/statistical-data/est-cpd/en/, which gives access to weekly prices of major traded products, including the high quality Thai white rice 100% B and the 100 % broken rice Thai A1 Super, from 1989 onwards. Monthly international and domestic prices for rice and other selected commodities in 82 countries are available through the Food Price Data and Analysis Tool (http://www.fao.org/giews/pricetool/).
You might also be interested to visit the FAO World Food Situation portal, which provides monthly updates on the World Cereal Supply and Demand Situation and Outlook (http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/en/).
Kind regards,
Concepción
Concepción Calpe
Senior Economist,
Secretary, Intergovernmental Group on Rice
Trade and Markets Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy
D-803
Tel. 39-06-570 54136
Fax 39-06-570 54495
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