World Grain - February 2013 - 92

RICE QUARTERLY

Rice

News Roundup
FAO: Rice production
outpacing consumption
ROME, ITALY — Global rice production for 2012 is forecast to outpace consumption in 2012-13, resulting in an upward revision of 5
million tonnes in 2013 closing inventories, according to a forecast by
the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Rice
Market Monitor (RMM) issued on Nov. 19.
“Compared to last year, world rice carryover stocks are expected
to rise by 7%, or 10 million tonnes, to a new high of almost 170 million tonnes, marking the eighth consecutive year of stock accumulation,” said the RMM. “As a result, the world rice stock-to-use ratio is
forecast to rise from 33.6% in 2012 to 35.5% in 2013.”
FAO raised its July forecast for global rice production in 2012 by
4.2 million tonnes to 729 million tonnes, or 486 million tonnes on
milled basis, largely because the 2012 season has been “progressing
satisfactorily, especially after a revival of the monsoon rains since
mid-August allayed fears of a repeat of the 2009 drought in India.”
Prospects improved not only for India, but also for Egypt, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Philippines, the U.S. and Vietnam, while they worsened in Myanmar, Colombia and Senegal.
In Asia, where rice is the staple food, FAO projects paddy output
will reach 661 million tonnes, or 441 million tonnes on milled basis,
up 0.8% on 2011, underpinned by widespread gains and particularly
large increases in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam.
Output is rebounding in Africa because of better weather, which

“has led FAO to raise the region’s production forecast to 26.4 million
tonnes,” or 17.3 million tonnes on milled basis. This is 4% more than
in 2011. Much of the growth comes from Egypt, where attractive
prices again prompted farmers to exceed their cultivation limits. But
increases also come from Mali, Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania and Nigeria.
The outlook for rice production in Latin America and the Caribbean points to a 6% contraction to 27.4 million tonnes, (18.3 million
tonnes milled basis), as insufﬁcient irrigation water and expectations
of low margins depressed rice cultivation in many South American
countries. In other regions, FAO anticipates that output in the U.S.
will be boosted by record yields, while Australia is heading towards
its best season since 2006. The Russian Federation looks set to harvest a bumper crop of rice, while unfavorable weather curbed production in the E.U.
Increasing rice production in Asia means that the region that consumes the most rice will not need to import so much of it. FAO forecasts that global rice trade in 2013 will reach 37.5 million tonnes
(milled basis), marginally above the estimate for 2012, which was
recently raised by more than 3 million tonnes to 37.3 million tonnes
(milled), 2% more than in 2011 and an all-time record. The higher
trade volume reﬂects expectations of large draw-downs from the
huge inventories held by exporting countries as they make space
for new crops.

Iran to import 170,000 tonnes of rice from India
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — Iran plans to import 170,000 tonnes of
rice from India in order to lower market prices.
According to an ofﬁcial with the country’s agricultural ministry,
Iran needs to import 500,000 tonnes of rice per year. The country
plans to produce more than 2.4 million tonnes of rice this calendar
year. Annual rice consumption in Iran is around 2.8 million tonnes.
Based on reports, Iran imported 775,000 tonnes of rice, valued
92

at $758 million, during the ﬁrst eight months of the current Iranian
calendar year. That is a 12% increase in terms of value, and a 2.35%
decrease in terms of volume, from the same time last year.
Iranian Deputy Agricultural Jihad Minister Jahangir Porhemmat said in December that Iran will reach self-sufﬁciency in rice
production during the next Iranian calendar year, which starts on
March 20.
February 2013 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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