Pakistani rice prices rose this week on slow arrivals from the new crop and supplies are expected to remain sluggish ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Azha due early next month, dealers said on Tuesday.
"There is not much activity these days," said Haji Majeed, an exporter in the southern port city of Karachi, adding that supplies would not pick up until after the latter part of the first week of February, once the festival was over.
The three-day Eid festival, in which many Muslims slaughter cattle following the end of annual Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, is expected to start on February 2.
Majeed said there was a dearth of transport to bring rice from farms to the markets. "Most trucks are bringing in sacrificial animals from the rural areas for Eid."
Dealers said rice prices rose in recent weeks due to the short supply and exporters were finding it difficult to compete with other rice exporting nations.
For IRRI-6 variety, Pakistani exporters were quoting export prices of $187-$188 per tonne, Majeed said, while competitors were offering the same quality at much lower rates.
Iraq, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and several East African countries are the traditional buyers of IRRI-6 from Pakistan.
The fine-quality Basmati rice is popular mainly in the oil-rich Middle Eastern countries and Europe.
Dealers said they expect prices to slip after Eid-al Adha on higher supplies.
Pakistan's rice year runs from April to November but supplies have not yet peaked even though it is currently the harvesting season as farmers are releasing stocks slowly aiming for higher prices.
The new crop is expected to yield 4.3 to 4.6 million tonnes, with domestic demand at 2.3 million tonnes.
Pakistan expects to export 1.9 million tonnes in the fiscal year to June 30, against the previous year's 1.72 million.
Dealers said 100-kg bags of IRRI-6 were quoted at 1,050/1,080 rupees in the local market, up around 20 rupees from the previous week.
Exporters were quoting FOB Karachi prices of about $187/$188 a tonne for IRRI-6 rice against previous week's $184/$185.
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