Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 3/21/2006

**GAIN Report Number:** TH6029

TH6028

**Thailand**

**Grain and Feed**

**Weekly Rice Price Update**

**2006**

**Approved by:**

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

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok

**Prepared by:**

Ponnarong Prasertsri, Agricultural Specialist

**Report Highlights:**

Domestic prices eased slightly but quotations remained high due to the
strengthening of the Thai baht.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Bangkok \[TH1\]

\[TH\]

**Indicative Prices (Week Ending Mar. 20):**

  ------------ -------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- -------
  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   465            435    460    456    460    435    \-     452      449

  WR 100 B     310            310    312    313    307    308    303    309      309

  PB 5%        292            295    302    309    296    300    300    299      299

  WR 5%        305            305    307    308    303    301    298    304      303

  WR 10%       298            297    304    303    300    297    293    299      298

  WR 15%       289            292    291    300    285    283    288    290      290

  WR 25%       271            272    275    287    268    265    283    275      275

  WR 35%       269            \-     \-     284    264    263    280    272      274

  A 1 SUP      218            218    216    222    215    213    214    217      216

  A 1 SPEC     216            216    214    219    213    \-     212    215      215

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

**Market Tone**

Despite lower domestic prices, export prices for most grades of rice
remained high due to the strengthening of the Thai baht to around 38.5
baht to one U.S. dollar, compared to around 39 baht to one U.S. dollar
in the previous week. Current domestic prices eased slightly as second
crop production is coming onto the market. Also, the Government will
release intervention stocks of old fragrant rice (MY 2004/05 crop) of
around 200,000 tons. The tender will be on March 21, 2006, and the
winners are required to export this rice within 30 days. However, trade
sources expect very few exporters to participate in this tender as
export market for old-crop fragrant rice is small, compared to that for
the new-crop. As a result, these tender prices are unlikely to be higher
than the market prices as compared to previous tenders in which the
Government successfully manipulated the prices of white rice upwards.

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)

  JAN 29       106,161        90,955         364           545

  FEB 5        66,774         90,288         431           681

  FEB 12       120,706        94,109         551           778

  FEB 19       86,753         95,098         638           893

  FEB 26       99,974         93,552         738           977

  MAR 5        89,876         99,327         828           1,049

  MAR 12       72,466         87,267         900           1,136

  MAR 19       75,974         84,573         976           1,234
  ------------ -------------- -------------- ------------- ---------------

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 Mar. 13-19 totaled
75,974 tons, up 3,508 tons from the previous week's total, and down
8,598 tons from the four-week moving average of 84,573 tons. Exports
during Jan. 1 -- Mar. 19, 2006 totaled 976,343 tons, as compared with
1,233,502 tons in the previous year.

According to the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce,
total rice exports (including fragrant rice) during Jan. 1 -- Mar. 8,
2006, amounted to 1,256,027 tons, down 13 percent from 1,450,531 tons in
the previous year.

**Weekly Rice Sales**

Private registered rice export sales for the period of Feb. 27 -- Mar.
3, Mar. 6-10, and\
Mar. 13-17, 2006 are as follows:

  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  Movement (MT)       Feb. 27 -- Mar. 3 Mar. 6-10         Mar. 13-17

  weekly sales        64,614            157,706           100,917

  4 week sum          453,531           477,520           473,164

  4 week mov. avg.    113,383           119,380           118,291

  Total weekly sales  974,244           1,131,950         1,232,867
  ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

End of Report.