Required Report - public distribution

**Date:** 9/4/2007

**GAIN Report Number:** TH7117

TH7117

**Thailand**

**Grain and Feed**

**Weekly Rice Price Update**

**2007**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Corey Pickelsimer, Agricultural Attaché

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok

**Prepared by:**

Ponnarong Prasertsri, Agricultural Specialist

**Report Highlights:**

Export prices remained relatively flat, except broken rice prices,
despite the Government's plan to release intervention stocks. A surge in
broken rice prices has been driven by new enquiries from African
countries.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Bangkok \[TH1\]

\[TH\]

**Indicative Prices (Week Ending Sep. 3):**

  ------------- -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------
  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    560            565    \-     555    580    535    550    558      557

  WR 100 B      329            335    \-     334    329    331    332    332      332

  PB 5%         324            343    \-     333    328    332    325    331      330

  WR 5%         323            330    \-     329    322    323    327    326      326

  WR 10%        318            325    \-     323    317    319    322    321      321

  WR 15%        311            320    \-     317    312    313    317    315      315

  WR 25%        300            300    \-     314    307    301    312    306      306

  WR 35%        297            \-     \-     \-     \-     297    \-     297      296

  A 1 SUP       268            \-     \-     267    265    268    270    268      265

  A 1 SPEC      265            \-     \-     264    262    \-     267    265      262

  Source:                                                                         
  Average                                                                         
  actual prices                                                                   
  received from                                                                   
  exporters,                                                                      
  Exchange                                                                        
  rate: 34.1                                                                      
  baht/U.S.\$                                                                     
  ------------- -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------

###### Market Tone

Export prices changed insignificantly, except for broken rice prices,
despite the government's plan to release old-crop intervention stocks of
around 868,000 tons this week, of which 556,000 tons are a part of the
one million tons acquired from a bankrupt exporter. Some quotations of
white rice were offered around \$1/MT higher in response to a slight
strengthening Thai baht to 34.1 baht/\$. Meanwhile, domestic and export
prices of broken rice surged due to reportedly strong new enquiries from
African countries as Vietnamese exportable supplies remain tight. In
addition, Thai exporters are expected to get a portion of the
Philippines' tender to buy 260,000 tons of 25 percent grade white rice
on September 7, which will put upward pressure on domestic broken rice
prices as broken rice will be mixed with medium-grade white rice to
produce 25 percent grade white rice.

On September 3, the Government conducted a tender to recruit private
exporters to handle delivery for the Government-to-Government sales of
100% B grade white rice to Iran, amounting to 210,000 tons from the
March 7 and June 19 deals, for delivery by this November. This included
a re-tender of a pending shipment of a bankrupt exporter who won a
portion of the tender (around 20,000 tons) for the
Government-to-Government deals with Iran last April.

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

  ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
  WEEK       QUANTITY    4-WK AVG    YEAR TO     YEAR AGO     YEAR TO DATE
  ENDING                             DATE                     AS % OF LAST
                                                              YEAR

             (MT)        (MT)        (TMT)       (TMT)        \%

  JUL 15     110,982     100,872     2,804       2,613        7.3

  JUL 22     97,823      98,194      2,902       2,713        7.0

  JUL 29     93,085      98,433      2,995       2,800        7.0

  AUG 5      84,102      96,498      3,079       2,859        7.7

  AUG 12     100,989     94,000      3,180       2,913        9.2

  AUG 19     91,788      92,491      3,272       2,993        9.3

  AUG 26     96,115      93,248      3,368       3,095        8.8

  SEP 2      90,589      94,870      3,459       3,173        9.0
  ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ------------

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 Aug. 27 -- Sep. 2, 2007
totaled 90,589 tons, down 5,526 tons from the previous week's total, and
down 4,281 tons from the four-week moving average of 94,870 tons. Export
during Jan. 1 -- Sep. 2, 2007 totaled 3,458,645 tons, as compared with
3,173,254 tons in the previous year.

According to the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce,
total rice exports (including fragrant rice) during Jan. 1 -- Aug. 29,
2007, amounted to 5,275,505 tons, up 11 percent from 4,755,210 tons in
the previous year.

**Weekly Rice Sales**

Private registered rice export sales for the period of Aug. 13-17, Aug.
20-24, and\
Aug. 27-31, 2007 are as follows:

  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  Movement (MT)       Aug. 13-17        Aug. 20-24        Aug. 27-31

  Weekly sales        82,578            53,072            108,381

  4 week sum          307,750           285,380           340,343

  4 week mov. avg.    76,938            71,345            85,086

  Total weekly sales  3,489,511         3,542,583         3,650,964
  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

End of Report.