Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 6/28/2005

**GAIN Report Number:** TH5063

TH5063

**Thailand**

**Grain and Feed**

**Weekly Rice Price Update**

**2005**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Russ Nicely, Acting Agricultural Counselor

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok

**Prepared by:**

Ponnarong Prasertsri, Agricultural Specialist

**Report Highlights:**

Export prices fell slightly to reflect the full impact of the Thai baht
slide. However, the prices remain too high for foreign buyers.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Bangkok \[TH1\]

\[TH\]

**Indicative Prices (Week Ending Jun 27):**

  ------------ -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------
  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   415            375    398    428    400    375    395    398      401

  WR 100 B     291            290    293    286    286    285    282    288      289

  PB 5%        279            287    287    285    280    283    280    283      285

  WR 5%        286            285    286    281    279    278    277    282      283

  WR 10%       281            277    282    279    276    275    272    277      279

  WR 15%       267            274    274    277    264    263    267    269      271

  WR 25%       257            262    258    274    251    251    262    259      260

  WR 35%       254            257    \-     269    249    249    257    256      257

  A 1 SUP      213            215    \-     211    211    211    208    212      213

  A 1 SPEC     210            214    \-     208    208    \-     206    209      211

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

**Market Tone**

Export prices for all grades of rice continued to fall slightly, as some
exporters fully adjusted the prices to reflect the weakening Thai baht.
However, domestic prices are the key concerns among exporters and
foreign buyers. Exporters reportedly could not buy any white rice at
prices below government intervention prices. Also, regular buyers from
African countries currently have enough stocks of Vietnamese rice that
they can wait for more attractive quotations of Thai white rice, as
current prices remain too high.

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)

  MAY 8        102,422        103,445        1,949         2,108

  MAY 15       92,855         110,426        2,042         2,450

  MAY 22       99,437         103,400        2,142         2,591

  MAY 29       63,446         89,540         2,205         2,747

  JUN 5        98,412         88,537         2,303         2,917

  JUN 12       128,207        97,375         2,432         3,090

  JUN 19       112,817        100,720        2,545         3,280

  JUN 26       69,849         102,321        2,614         3457
  ------------ -------------- -------------- ------------- ---------------

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 Jul. 20-26, 2005
totaled 69,849 tons, down 42,968 tons from the previous week's total and
down 32,472 tons from the four-week moving average of 102,321 tons.
Exports during Jan. 1 -- Jun. 26, 2005 amounted to 2,614,360 tons, as
compared with 3,457,321 tons in the previous year.

According to the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce,
total rice exports (including fragrant rice) during Jan. 1 -- Jun 8,
2005, amounted to 3,301,079 tons, down 16 percent from 3,932,611 tons in
the previous year.

**Weekly Rice Sales**

Private registered rice export sales for the period of Jun. 6-10, Jun.
13-17, and\
Jun. 20-24, 2005 are as follows:

  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  Movement (MT)       Jun 6-10          Jun 13-17         Jun 20-24

  weekly sales        93,548            129,684           77,860

  4 week sum          397,306           431,193           419,234

  4 week mov. avg.    99,327            107,798           104,809

  Total weekly sales  2,476,055         2,605,739         2,683,599
  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

End of Report.