Brief commentary of the month:

·  In July 2018, the FAO All Rice Price Index (2002-04=100) registered its first tangible decrease since October 2016, falling 2.4 percent (5.7 points) below June levels to 229.2 points. Prices of lower and higher quality Indica rice drove this decline, with their respective indices shedding around 5 percent of their June value. A retreat in Thai Hom Mali quotations also lowered the Aromatica Index by 1.2 percent month-on-month, while Japonica prices were mostly steady.

·  July quotations of Indica rice weakened for the second successive month in most Asian origins, as in the absence of substantial demand, currency movements and competition among exporters weighed on sentiment.  In Thailand, benchmark 100% B white rice fell by 8 percent to a nine-month low of USD 420 per tonne. An even steeper (12 percent) monthly declined was witnessed in Viet Nam, where additional pressure stemmed from the onset of the early summer-autumn harvest. In India, sluggish African demand and the retreat of Bangladeshi buyers from the market also softened parboiled values, but white rice quotations found more backing on expectations of potential domestic price increases following the 11-13 percent rise in support prices approved by the Government in July. Although tighter availabilities from production cuts limited declines in the Americas, quotations were also mildly lower in Argentina, the United States and Uruguay, amid slow demand. By contrast, they rose some more in Brazil, as a fast export pace continued to underpin paddy prices, offsetting downward pressure from a weaker Real.

• According to the Index, international prices in the first seven months of 2018 were 14.5 percent above their corresponding levels in 2017.