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UAE Rice Price Drops 15 Per Cent, Retailers Say
ABU DHABI — The price of rice in United Arab Emirates shops fell by 15 per cent in the three months to April, retailers said on Thursday, reflecting a fall in global prices caused by the economic crisis and a good harvest.
“A kilogramme of basmati rice in the supermarket costs around Dh11.65 ($3.17) right now which is 15 per cent cheaper than what it was three months ago,” said Abraham George, the manager of Bani Yas Cooperative supermarket in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The global economic crisis has taken a toll on wholesale rice prices bringing them down by more than 50 per cent to around $530 a tonne by the end of April from around $1000 last year, said Abah Ofon, commodities analyst at Standard Chartered Bank
in Dubai.
He said good harvests had increased supply, which was also weighing on prices. “It was a good season for rice this year as supply in India and Pakistan was higher than before which is one of the reasons why we are seeing the retail prices of rice drop here,”
he said.
On Wednesday, India allowed state firms to export 1 million tonnes of non-basmati rice after it had banned exports last year to stave off shortages at home. This follows Vietnam’s decision in late April to allow rice exporters to resume talks to sign new deals, and Thailand’s last month to allow its exporters to sell some stocks on concerns prices would drop further if New Delhi lifted a ban on exports.
Like the majority of Gulf states, the UAE mainly relies on imported food, and on average the country imports more than 300,000 tonnes of rice a year from India, Thailand and Pakistan, said Ofon. George said many local rice traders were trying to keep prices at this same level by offering consumers an extra kilogramme of rice for every two kilogrammes they purchased.
They are under pressure from the UAE’s Ministry of Economy which wants them to cut prices.
The ministry plans to meet rice traders this month to discuss ways of bringing prices down even more to match the international decline of the commodity, said Hashim Saeed Al Neaimi, the manager of consumer protection at the ministry.
“The ministry does not impose prices because it’s a free market we just protect the interest of consumers and make sure that prices are inline with international levels,” said Al Neaimi.
Importers have already started reacting to the changes in the market by offering new, cheaper brands.
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