Pakistani rice prices remained unchanged over the past week on lower stocks, and dealers said on Tuesday they were unlikely to ease till next month when fresh arrivals would pick up. "At the moment the arrivals from the fresh crop are very slow, which have kept the prices at a high level over the past few weeks," said Abdul Mated, a dealer in the southern port city of Karachi.
"Prices would fall once the arrivals from the new crop pick up pace in late October or November," he said. Dealers said only around 200 to 300 tonnes of supplies were arriving daily in the market.
They said exporters were trying to cover positions for their previous commitments, including orders from African countries and the World Food Programme. However, they said there were hardly any stocks available to meet fresh orders.
Traders quoted export prices for IRRI-6 variety at $244/245 per tonne, unchanged from the previous week. Pakistan's crop year runs from April to November. Sowing normally starts in mid-April and the main harvest begins in September, peaking in October.
Rice output for fiscal 2003/04 (July-June) was around 4.2 million tonnes, dealers said. They quoted 100-kg bags of IRRI-6 variety at around 1,300 rupees, unchanged from the last week.
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