ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Thursday that Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam being the major rice exporting countries continue to build up their reserves which will be compensated globally by a drawdown in US and India, the two other major exporters.

Combined, the five major rice exporters remain projected to end their individual 2013-14 marketing years with three per cent more on reserves, or 48.4 million tonnes, says the ‘Rice Market Monitor’.

As a result of these changes, the world stock-to-use ratio, a key indicator of food security, is predicted to rise from 35.7pc in 2012 to 35.9pc in 2013-14, according to the monitor.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research says rice production at national level is estimated to be 6.7 million tonnes in 2013-14, higher by 21.3pc than last year’s production of 5.5 million tonnes, according to the second estimate for the Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The increase in production has mainly resulted in increase in area by 19.4pc as yield increased slightly by 1.6pc.

The FAO monitor says that despite climatic shifts and natural disasters plaguing some rice producing countries, the 2013 season has produced more rice than expected, adding to the ninth straight year of rice surplus or ‘carry over’.

FAO is predicting that 2014 will experience a 5pc jump in international trade of rice.

That is an increase of more than one million tonnes on the 38 million tonnes foreseen just four months ago – a new high, according to FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, Hiroyuki Konuma.

Since its last report in November, the rice monitor has lifted its estimate for global rice utilisation in 2013-14 by one million tonnes to more than 490 million tonnes (on milled basis), an increase of 2.5pc on the previous year.