RICE: The 2017/18 U.S. rice supply and use estimates are unchanged relative to last month. The projected season-average farm price (SAFP) for all rice classes are
unchanged at the midpoint. The SAFP for all rice is $12.50 per cwt at the midpoint of the range of $12.10 to $12.90.
Global 2017/18 rice production is raised to a new record of 486.3 million tons, fractionally surpassing last year’s record. Almost all of the production increase is for India, where production is raised to 110.0 million tons, based on the India government updated data for 2017/18. The increase in India’s production more than offsets a reduction in Sri Lanka, where production is now below average for the second consecutive year. Global 2017/18 trade is raised to a record 47.3 million tons, mainly on higher exports expected from India with greater exportable supplies. World ending stocks are projected increasing to 143.1 million tons for 2017/18, which would match the second highest on record. China now holds over 66 percent of total stocks.