Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 12/27/2005

**GAIN Report Number:** TH5132

TH5132

**Thailand**

**Grain and Feed**

**Weekly Rice Price Update**

**2005**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Rodrick McSherry, Agricultural Counselor

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok

**Prepared by:**

Ponnarong Prasertsri, Agricultural Specialist

**Report Highlights:**

Export prices changed insignificantly following quiet trading
activities.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Bangkok \[TH1\]

\[TH\]

**Indicative Prices (Week Ending Dec. 26):**

  ------------ -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------
  Thailand:                                                                      
  Export (FOB)                                                                   
  Prices for                                                                     
  various                                                                        
  grades of                                                                      
  rice                                                                           
  (USD/M.T.)                                                                     

               Exporter                                                 Period   
               Observations                                             Avg.     

               #1             #2     #3     #4     #5     #6     #7     CUR.     PRV.

  F WR 100 B   410            398    390    431    400    394    380    400      402

  WR 100 B     289            288    286    284    288    286    282    287      286

  PB 5%        275            279    277    278    278    278    275    277      276

  WR 5%        285            283    282    279    282    280    280    282      281

  WR 10%       280            275    278    276    279    278    275    277      277

  WR 15%       267            272    273    274    267    266    270    270      270

  WR 25%       255            260    263    269    253    250    265    259      258

  WR 35%       252            \-     \-     267    251    248    260    256      256

  A 1 SUP      209            212    208    208    210    205    202    208      208

  A 1 SPEC     207            210    206    206    208    \-     200    206      207

  Source:                                                                        
  Average                                                                        
  actual                                                                         
  prices                                                                         
  received                                                                       
  from                                                                           
  exporters                                                                      
  ------------ -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------

**Market Tone**

Export prices for all grades of rice changed insignificantly. White rice
market will reportedly be quiet, particularly in African countries,
until mid-January due to long holidays of trading companies. However,
Thai white rice prices will likely remain high, as compared to
Vietnamese rice, which is currently offered around U.S.\$ 20-30/MT lower
again. Thai rice quotations are still limited by high intervention
prices. As of December 25, 2005, the government intervention program
aggressively bought 2.6 million tons of paddy, of which 1.4 million tons
were white rice, and around 1 million tons were fragrant rice.

The following are the reported rice exports (as is basis)**:**

  ------------ -------------- -------------- ------------- ---------------
  WEEK ENDING  QUANTITY       4-WK AVG       YEAR TO DATE  YEAR AGO

               (MT)           (MT)           (TMT)         (TMT)

  NOV 6        107,505        102,622        4,374         6,789

  NOV 13       61,330         100,886        4,435         6,959

  NOV 20       81,073         90,637         4,516         7,095

  NOV 27       72,224         80,533         4,588         7,251

  DEC 4        89,714         76,085         4,678         7,423

  DEC 11       82,201         81,303         4,760         7,553

  DEC 18       97,813         85,488         4,858         7,665

  DEC 25       80,754         87,620         4,939         7,772
  ------------ -------------- -------------- ------------- ---------------

Note on data: Export figures since March 22, 2002, do not include
fragrant rice. The authority to report fragrant rice exports was moved
from the Thai Board of Trade to the Ministry of Commerce's Office of
Commodity Standards, which does not release official fragrant rice
export data. FAS/BKK will report only official export numbers from the
Board of Trade for non-fragrant and from the Office of Commodity
Standards for fragrant rice when available, but the reader should bear
in mind the difference between the data.

Unofficial exports (excluding fragrant rice) for Dec. 19-25, 2005
totaled 80,754 tons, down 17,059 tons from the previous week's total and
down 6,866 tons from the four-week moving average of 87,620 tons.
Exports during Jan. 1 -- Dec. 25, 2005 amounted to 4,938,653 tons, as
compared with 7,771,789 tons in the previous year.

According to the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce,
total rice exports (including fragrant rice) during Jan. 1 -- Dec. 21,
2005, amounted to 7,088,508 tons, down 28 percent from 9,886,104 tons in
the previous year.

**Weekly Rice Sales**

Private registered rice export sales for the period of Dec. 5-9, Dec.
12-16, and\
Dec. 19-23, 2005 are as follows:

  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  Movement (MT)       Dec. 5-9          Dec. 12-16        Dec. 19-23

  weekly sales        65,986            128,518           101,830

  4 week sum          348,769           440,856           447,484

  4 week mov. avg.    96,192            110,214           111,871

  Total weekly sales  5,081,516         5,120,034         5,311,864
  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

End of Report.