Rice Futures Hover at 2-Year Highs
2026-09-17 13:52
By
Luisa Carvalho
1 min. read
Rice futures traded near $16 per hundredweight, holding close to their highest level since July 2024, amid expectations of tighter supply.
While global rice supplies remain ample, erratic weather and below-normal monsoon rains in major Asian producers continue to cloud the supply outlook.
Top exporter India is on course for its weakest monsoon in nearly two decades in the face of a strengthening El Nino weather phenomenon.
The country's rice output is set to fall this year for the first time in a decade, with the decline expected to be the steepest in nearly 20 years.
On the other hand, favorable rainfall in Thailland's key growing regions is expected to boost next year's off-season rice crop.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has brought forward planting and distributed water pumps to protect rice production from drier El Niño conditions.
Rice output is estimated at 31.41 million tons in January-October, little changed from 31.44 million tons a year earlier, according to statistics bureau data.