ISLAMABAD, July 28: Pakistani rice prices were firm during the past week on depleted stocks, which had slowed exports, and traders said on Monday activity was likely to remain dull until the arrival of the new crop in September.

“We all are waiting for new arrivals...our export season is over,” said Haji Majeed, an exporter in Karachi.

Majeed said a few exporters were shipping old commitments but there were no fresh orders.

“Two containers of 1,500 tons each are about to ship for East African countries and after that very little stock will be available,” he added.

The main buyers of Pakistani rice are Iraq, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and several East African countries.

Dealers said local demand had pushed prices up to a point where Pakistani exporters could not match competitors’ prices on the international market.

Pakistani exporters were quoting export prices of $177-$179 per ton for Irri-6 variety.

Another exporter in Karachi said traders were also expecting fresh supplies in September to soften the current high price levels for Irri-6 rice. Traders said 150,000 tons of rice were available in the market, only enough to meet domestic demand and some previous commitments.

Pakistan estimates output of 4.3 million tons in the 2003-04 crop year (April-Nov), versus last year’s 4.228 million.—Reuters