'Rice importers may leverage prices once import ban is lifted'

Rice importers will have the leverage to delay purchases and even buy at a bargain once the country’s rice import ban is lifted as global prices remain soft due to a supply glut, the International Rice Research Institute said.

- By JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

In a market brief, IRRI senior scientist Alisher Mirzabaev and The Rice Trader president and CEO Jeremy Zwinger assessed the impact of the Philippines’ 60-day rice import suspension, which started last Sept. 15, on global rice trade.

The authors noted that the country’s rice import ban came ata time when global rice prices softened by double-digit rates due to record-high world supply.

The global market situation has led to exporters like Vietnam and Thailand facing thinner profit margins and storage glut. The authors claimed that Vietnamese rice exporters have become “anxious” about the import ban since the Philippines is their top market.

The situation seems favorable for rice importers in the country since the two-month import ban ordered by President Marcos would “accelerate” a “buyers’ market dynamic’ in the global rice trade, according to the market brief.