[hepr-vn] GLOBAL RICE PRODUCTION TO RISE BY 1.8 PER CENT IN 2008, SAYS UN AGENCY

[Vern Weitzel]

Subject: GLOBAL RICE PRODUCTION TO RISE BY 1.8 PER CENT IN 2008, SAYS UN AGENCY
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:02:14 -0400
From: <UNNews at un.org>
Reply-To: <UNNews at un.org>
Organization: United Nations
To: <news9 at secint00.un.org>

GLOBAL RICE PRODUCTION TO RISE BY 1.8 PER CENT IN 2008, SAYS UN AGENCY
New York, Apr  2 2008 10:00AM
Global rice production is expected to increase by 1.8 per cent – or 12 million 
tonnes – this year, easing a tight supply situation in key cultivating 
countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) <" 
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000820/index.html">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 to rise in Africa, Latin America and the European 
Union, while it may contract in Japan, one of the few countries where producer 
prices fell last year, the agency said.

Meanwhile, the forecast for Australia is “dismal,” in light of extremely low 
water availability, and a decrease is also expected in the United States, owing 
to competition from more profitable crops.

According to FAO, global rice prices have risen by about 20 per cent since 
January, reflecting the limited supplies available for sale.  Prices are not 
likely to rise further in the coming months, with the arrival of new rice 
harvests in Brazil or Uruguay, as well as in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, 
Thailand and Viet Nam. “So far, prospects regarding these crops are positive,” 
said Ms. Calpe.
  2008-04-02 00:00:00.000

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