KARACHI, Aug 23: Pakistan’s rice market was dull during the last week on low stocks and traders said on Tuesday that activity was unlikely to pick up before September when supplies from the new crop became available.

“The market is very quiet as there are no stocks left, which has caused the prices to remain stable,” a Karachi-based exporter said. He said the high domestic rice prices and low stocks would keep a lid on exports for several more weeks.

The exporter said that around 60,000 tons of rice from last year’s crop were available, which would only meet the local demand.

Dealers said market activity would pick up from next month as arrivals from the new crop accelerated. Some rice is coming in from central Punjab, while in southern Sindh new grain was expected from the first week of September.

Pakistan harvested 4.8 million tons of rice in the last crop year and expects to produce 5.0 million tons this crop year. Annual domestic consumption is about 2.3 million tons.

Pakistani traders have exported around 2.2 million tons of rice during the current export season.

Irri-6 varieties were quoted between Rs1,360 and Rs1,380 for a 100-kg bag, unchanged from the previous week.—Reuters