Rice Market: More Bullish Than Bearish

In the domestic market, damage from Hurricane Laura is still being assessed. It is widely accepted that damage has occurred to the 2020 rice crop in most production areas. However, the size and scope of that damage has yet to be determined. Cash prices have continued to be somewhat firm as a result in most areas. Quality and milling yields are still big question marks to be determined that will drive the pricing equation for the remainder of the year. Overall, prices in the long-grain states have been largely sideways over the past few weeks. Given the focus on harvest and the lack of obvious direction in the cash market, flat prices are likely to continue until some disruption in the market occurs. Reports from South America suggest that the supply situation there is getting tighter. Buyers from the Mercosur trading area have already made overtures to purchase US rough rice at harvest to offset these deficiencies. Any sale of consequence to those destinations would boost the ...