May 3, 2006	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1427

KARACHI, May 2: Pakistani rice prices held firm in the past week due to low stocks and traders said on Tuesday activity would remain slow as the market awaited fresh supplies from the new crop.

They said exports of Irri variety had dwindled on falling stocks and basmati was drifting along slowly.

“Traders are not even quoting export price for Irri because stocks are not there,” a Karachi-based exporter said.

“The market will remain dull until the new crop arrives by the end of August or early September.”

Another trader said basmati exports were moving mainly to the Middle East. “Most of the trade is container-based,” he said, adding that exports might stay slow for the rest of the year.

Pakistan sold a record 2.8 million tons of rice in the year to April, up more than 27 per cent from last year. Export revenues had crossed $1 billion this year, beating the previous all-time high of $933 million last season.

According to Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan data, private traders had exported 1.3 million tons of various varieties of aromatic basmati and 1.5 million tons of Irri-6 rice as of April 22.

The main buyers of Pakistani rice were Iraq, Iran, Africa, Afghanistan and the Philippines.

The record overseas sales were made after a big harvest last season, when the crop was 5.5 million tons against 4.8 million tons in 2004-05.—Reuters