Required Report - public distribution

**Date:** 10/9/2007

**GAIN Report Number:** TH7140

TH7140

**Thailand**

**Grain and Feed**

**Weekly Rice Update**

**2007**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Gary Meyer, Agricultural Counselor

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok

**Prepared by:**

Maysa Kunasirirat, Agricultural Assistant

**Report Highlights:**

The average export prices for most grades are basically unchanged.
However, trade sources reported that their export quotations for this
week have increased across the board.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Trade Report

Bangkok \[TH1\]

\[TH\]

**Indicative Prices (Week Ending Oct. 7):**

  ------------- -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------
  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    567            575    \-     555    \-     550    550    559      558

  WR 100 B      328            333    \-     329    \-     337    335    332      332

  PB 5%         322            345    \-     333    \-     338    330    334      330

  WR 5%         321            328    \-     323    \-     328    325    325      326

  WR 10%        317            323    \-     317    \-     325    320    320      321

  WR 15%        314            318    \-     314    \-     321    315    316      317

  WR 25%        308            303    \-     311    \-     315    \-     309      309

  WR 35%        305            \-     \-     309    \-     310    \-     308      304

  A 1 SUP       290            \-     \-     290    \-     293    290    291      279

  A 1 SPEC      287            \-     \-     287    \-     \-     276    283      274

  Source:                                                                         
  Average                                                                         
  actual prices                                                                   
  received from                                                                   
  exporters,                                                                      
  Exchange                                                                        
  rate: 34.03                                                                     
  baht/U.S.\$                                                                     
  ------------- -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------

###### Market Tone

The average export prices for most grades are basically unchanged.
However, trade sources reported that their export quotations for this
week have increased across the board mainly because flooding in planting
areas may result in lower harvest volumes and supplies of broken rice
have been scarce. Due to a lack of supply availabilities, prices for
broken rice have soared up this week.

On October 2, the Government held a tender to sell 821,394 tons of the
intervention stocks, of which 245,061 tons were 5% grade white rice from
2004/05 stocks, 200,000 tons were 5% grade white rice from 2005/06
stocks and 376,333 tons were jasmine fragrant rice from both crop years.
There are eight Thai exporters participating in the tender with the
highest offered prices at around 9,100 baht/MT (U.S. \$267.02/MT),
F.O.B., compared to current export prices of around \$309/MT, F.O.B. As
for fragrant rice, there are 25 bidders in the tender with highest offer
prices for 2004/05 stocks ranging from 12,850 to 13,750 baht/ton
(roughly U.S. \$378-405/MT) and 2005/06 stocks ranging from 15,350 to
15,850 baht/ton (roughly U.S. \$450-466/MT). Most of bidders were rice
millers, as fragrant rice is also allowed for domestic sales. The Thai
Ministry of Commerce is expected to renegotiate for higher bidding
prices of white rice in order to minimize loss from the intervention
program.

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)        \%

  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

  SEP 9      141,815     105,077     3,600       3,269        10.1

  SEP 16     149,864     119,596     3,750       3,383        10.9

  SEP 23     151,993     133,565     3,902       3,494        11.7

  SEP 30     191,059     158,682     4,093       3,577        14.4

  OCT 7      180,214     168,282     4,273       3,663        16.6
  ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ------------

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 Oct 1-7, 2007 totaled
180,214 tons, down 10,844 tons from the previous week's total, and up
11,932 tons from the four-week moving average of 168,282 tons. Export
during Jan. 1 -- Oct 7, 2007 totaled 4,273,591 tons, as compared with
3,663,377 tons in the previous year.

According to the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce,
total rice exports (including fragrant rice) during Jan. 1 -- Sep. 30,
2007, amounted to 6,143,849 tons, up 13.8 percent from 5,399,437 tons in
the previous year.

**Weekly Rice Sales**

Private registered rice export sales for the period of Sep. 17-21, Sep.
24-28, and Oct 1-7 2007 are as follows:

  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  Movement (MT)       Sep. 17-21        Sep 24-28         Oct 1-7

  Weekly sales        187,663           208,758           202,052

  4 week sum          663,912           764,298           791,832

  4 week mov. avg.    165,978           191,072           197,958

  Total weekly sales  4,206,495         4,415,253         4,617,305
  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

End of Report.