Rice Production & Paddy Consumption in August

By CnAgri2012-09-24 11:14:52 Print

Rice production by medium and large mills (each with an annual sales revenue of over RMB20 million) registered 8.779 million MT in August, 1.3% less than the month before but 18.84% more than the same period of last year. Rice production totaled 65.359 million MT in January ~ August, an increase of 19.93% on the year-on-year basis. The promulgated figures showed a rice production increase of 19.9% in August and 21% in January ~ August, both on the year-on-year basis.

At a rice/paddy ratio of 68%, medium and large mills consumed 12.91 million MT paddy in August and 96.116 million MT in January ~ August. Rice production and paddy consumption by mills of various scales were estimated to be 10.123 million MT and 14.886 million MT respectively in August. At the rice productive capacity recorded at the end of 2011, small mills ran at 11.1% of their capacity in August and medium and large mills at 46%.

Paddy consumption for various uses was about 16.752 million MT in August. Paddy inventory was estimated to be 96.631 million MT at the end of August, suggesting a monthly consumption index of 5.8, parallel to the same period of last year.

Paddy inventory consisted of 41.56 million MT state reserve, 5.1 million MT traders’ stock, 17.12 million MT rice mills’ stock and 32.85 million MT on-farm stock. Farmers sold 47.23% of their harvested paddy this year by August, 7.99% more than the same period of last year, accredited to state-run companies’ active procurement.

In the 2012/2013 crop year, planted paddy acreage, paddy production and paddy consumption are estimated to be 30.305 million hectares, 202.9 million MT and 202.9 million MT respectively, up 0.26%, 1.34% and 1.61% respectively on the year-on-year basis. Paddy inventory is predicted to be 84.702 million MT at the end of the crop year, suggesting a safety index of 41.75%.

Paddy price was RMB2,759/MT in August and may average RMB2,812/MT in 2012/2013, up 9.46% and 5 ~ 8% respectively on the year-on-year basis, attributable to inflation.

From “China Grains Market Weekly Report”