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Pak rice prices stable due to depleted stocks
8/11/2005
KARACHI, Aug 10 (Reuters): Pakistani rice prices have been stable in the past week due to depleted stocks, and traders said Tuesday that market activity was likely to remain slow until the arrival of new crop arrivals in September.
"Nothing is happening in the market as there are no stocks available," said Haji Abdul Majeed, a rice exporter in the southern port city of Karachi.
Majeed said traders were expecting fresh supplies from the central Punjab province in late August, with the market picking up in September.
Traders said around 50,000 tonnes of rice from last year's crop were available, but those stocks were unlikely to attract buyers due to quality problems.
Pakistan's crop year runs from April to November. Sowing normally starts in mid-April and harvesting begins in August, peaking in September.
Pakistan harvested 4.8 million tonnes of rice in the last crop year and expects to produce 5.0 million tonnes this crop year. Annual domestic consumption is about 2.3 million tonnes.
Pakistani traders have exported around 2.2 million tonnes of rice during the current season.
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