By Javier Blas in London
Financial Times (UK)
The rice market showed tentative signs of easing yesterday after Cambodia became the first country to lift trade restrictions on the grain.
Cambodia, the world's eighth largest rice exporter, imposed a ban on foreign sales two months ago to fight food inflation. But Hun Sen, prime minister, yesterday said the country was no longer facing a rice shortage.
"The ban on the rice exports is being lifted from now on," he said. "We have over 1m tonnes of rice that needs to be exported. We don't have any shortage."
Thailand medium-quality rice, the global benchmark, slipped below $1,000 a tonne following Cambodia's decision. Traders in Bangkok quoted indicative offers for this rice at about $920 a tonne, well below last month's record of more than $1,100 a tonne.
Mr Hun Sen said the lifting of the ban would help reduce "concerns of the world, especially that of the Philippines" over supplies of the grain. The Philippines is the world's largest rice importer.
The price of rice jumped from about $350 a tonne a year ago to April's record on the back of trade restrictions imposed in late 2007 and early this year by leading exporters Vietnam, India, Egypt, China and Cambodia.
The restrictions closed about a third of the international rice market, triggering panic buying by countries such as the Philippines. Rice is a staple of 3bn people in south-east Asia, west Africa and central America.
Importing countries reacted to surging prices by scrapping rice tariffs. Mexico on Sunday became the latest importer to eliminate import tariffs on staples including corn, rice, wheat and sorghum.
Analysts and traders said other rice-exporting countries might now ease their restrictions, although they warned such a move would depend on the size and quality of the new crop, which will be harvested after the summer.
Concepción Calpe, a rice expert at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, said other leading exporters would wait until it became clear whether the expected bumper crops materialised.
"India will wait for the arrival of the monsoon rains before deciding whether to ease its trade restrictions," she said.
In the wheat market, Ukraine - one of the world's top-10 exporters - also lifted its trade restrictions earlier this month, helping wheat prices to fall to the lowest level in six months.
Cambodia, the world's eighth largest rice exporter, imposed a ban on foreign sales two months ago to fight food inflation. But Hun Sen, prime minister, yesterday said the country was no longer facing a rice shortage.
"The ban on the rice exports is being lifted from now on," he said. "We have over 1m tonnes of rice that needs to be exported. We don't have any shortage."
Thailand medium-quality rice, the global benchmark, slipped below $1,000 a tonne following Cambodia's decision. Traders in Bangkok quoted indicative offers for this rice at about $920 a tonne, well below last month's record of more than $1,100 a tonne.
Mr Hun Sen said the lifting of the ban would help reduce "concerns of the world, especially that of the Philippines" over supplies of the grain. The Philippines is the world's largest rice importer.
The price of rice jumped from about $350 a tonne a year ago to April's record on the back of trade restrictions imposed in late 2007 and early this year by leading exporters Vietnam, India, Egypt, China and Cambodia.
The restrictions closed about a third of the international rice market, triggering panic buying by countries such as the Philippines. Rice is a staple of 3bn people in south-east Asia, west Africa and central America.
Importing countries reacted to surging prices by scrapping rice tariffs. Mexico on Sunday became the latest importer to eliminate import tariffs on staples including corn, rice, wheat and sorghum.
Analysts and traders said other rice-exporting countries might now ease their restrictions, although they warned such a move would depend on the size and quality of the new crop, which will be harvested after the summer.
Concepción Calpe, a rice expert at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, said other leading exporters would wait until it became clear whether the expected bumper crops materialised.
"India will wait for the arrival of the monsoon rains before deciding whether to ease its trade restrictions," she said.
In the wheat market, Ukraine - one of the world's top-10 exporters - also lifted its trade restrictions earlier this month, helping wheat prices to fall to the lowest level in six months.
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