Rice Hits 5-week Low

Rice decreased to 10.86 USD/cwt, the lowest since March 2026. Over the past 4 weeks, Rice lost 3.32%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 19.21%.

Rice futures traded around $10.9 per hundredweight, near the lowest since early March, amid prospects of ample supply despite increased logistical costs and heightened geopolitical risks. Several Asian producers such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand are currently in the peak of the winter–spring harvest, supporting near-term supply availability. Meanwhile, the USDA, in its April monthly report, projected higher global rice supplies for 2025/26, largely due to greater production in Thailand, along with lower consumption and higher ending stocks. The US rice outlook showed steady supplies, lower domestic use, reduced exports, and higher ending stocks. Data released on March 31 indicated that US rice planting intentions for 2026 showed a significant reduction in cultivated area amid climate challenges, rising costs, and global market uncertainty.

Rice futures have fluctuated around $11 per hundredweight, as the market contends with significant volatility driven by geopolitical conflicts, rising energy costs, and higher logistics expenses impacting supply and demand. Prices, however, remain well below the $19 per hundredweight peak in May 2024, amid ample supplies and weak demand from major buyers such as African countries. India holds massive stockpiles, while Thailand and Vietnam are awaiting the arrival of their new harvests, adding to the global supply balance. In the meantime, official data from the Philippines showed rice stockpiles expanded in March compared with a year earlier, driven by the recovery in government-held reserves and steady increases in household holdings. Meanwhile, the USDA expects a reduction in rice acreage in the United States this year, including a sharp decline in Arkansas, the country’s top rice-producing state.