Pakistani rice export prices are likely to slip in the coming weeks because of the bigger crop size and dealers said on Thursday that exporters aim to boost their sales by targeting new markets.
"This year, our rice prices will be lower than the previous year because of the good size of the crop," said Khalid Ghori, a leading exporter in the port city of Karachi.
On average, the price for the standard quantity of Pakistan's Basmati rice will be around $7 lower than last year, while IRRI-6 should slip by around $10 to $12, he said.
Last year, the average price of fine-quality aromatic Basmati Super ranged around $575 per 100 kg, while the low-quality IRRI was at around $240, dealers said.
Government officials predict a good crop this season. They expect rice output to be more than 4.6 million tonnes in 2003/04, compared with four million last year, leaving more than 2.4 million tonnes for export.
Dealers said the sharp depreciation of around 5.0 percent in the rupee against the dollar since July 1 - the beginning of the 2004/05 fiscal year - would make Pakistani exports more competitive.
Ghori said exporters were trying to sell fine-quality Basmati rice in some new markets, including China and Russia.
The Middle East and Europe are traditional markets for Pakistani Basmati, while IRRI is exported mostly to African countries.
Dealers expect supplies from farms to increase in the third week of November after the Muslim festival of Eid-al Fitr which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramazan that started in mid-October.
Trade and commercial activity usually slows down during Ramazan because the regular working hours are slashed.
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.
Traders quoted FOB prices for IRRI-6 variety at $230/232 - unchanged from the previous week.
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