KARACHI, May 10: Pakistan’s rice trade was dull during the past week on depleting stocks and traders said on Tuesday activity was unlikely to pick up before September when supplies from the new crop became available.

They said the prices held stable as low stock levels provided little impetus and with prices seen hovering at current levels until the arrival of fresh supplies.

“The market is quiet because it’s the tail-end of the season...so the market is slowly drifting down,” said a Karachi-based trader. He said the export shipments were almost completed for the season and exporters were reluctant to take fresh orders due to the depleting stock position.

Another trader said the stocks position would keep the market depressed in coming weeks as most traders had already covered their needs to meet local demand up until September.

“The available stocks, which are around 300,000 tons, can only meet local demand,” he said. Pakistan expects its rice output this April-November season to exceed 4.8 million tons, compared with 4.0 million tons last year, leaving more than 2.4 million tons for export.

In the local market, Irri-6 varieties were quoted between Rs1,250 and Rs1,275 for a 100-kg bag, unchanged from the previous week.—Reuters