Rice Futures at 1-Month Lows

2026-02-16 16:27 By Luisa Carvalho 1 min. read

Rice futures eased to below $9.90 per hundredweight, the lowest since early January, pressured by ample global supply from abundant harvests in major Asian exporters, which more than offset demand.

The FAO’s latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief released on February 6, projected global rice production for 2025/26 at 561.6 million tonnes, up 2% year-on-year and an all-time high, reflecting a 2.9 million-tonne upward revision since December, largely driven by stronger-than-expected output in India.

Higher output in Bangladesh, Brazil, China and Indonesia is also seen outweighing contractions in Madagascar, Pakistan, Thailand, and the United States.

Global rice stocks are expected to climb 3.8% by the end of the 2025/26 marketing year, reaching a new high of 217.7 million tonnes, exceeding December estimates by 900,000 tonnes, primarily due to India’s revised reserves.



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