NEW YORK, May 29: Rice prices retreated further on Wednesday, hitting a two-month low on expectations that easing export bans in Asia and a robust crop in Vietnam will boost supplies of the staple food consumed by half the world’s population.

The latest fall in rice prices comes as the government of Cambodia this week lifted a rice export ban imposed in March to stabilise rising domestic prices. Pakistan lifted its own export ban earlier this month, and Vietnam is expected to ease its export ban in July.

Vietnam, the world’s No. 2 rice exporter after Thailand, is also forecast to produce a large rice crop this year, which will likely put downward pressure on prices, said Jack Scoville, rice analyst with Price Futures Group in Chicago.

“Prices have corrected quite a bit in the last week, so buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach,” Scoville said. “Vietnam’s crop is being harvested now and so far it seems to be above last year’s by about 6 per cent. It’s going to hit the market pretty soon.”

Rough rice futures for July delivery fell $1.15 to settle at $18.45 per 100 pounds on the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest level since March 20. The contract is down 26 per cent from an all-time high of $25.07 on April 24.

Scoville said the steep decline may signal the start of a correction for rice prices, which have surged 80 per cent in the last year amid fears of a global shortage. High prices have sparked food riots in poor countries around the globe and prompted some vendors earlier this year to limit sales to discourage hoarding.

Rice has “run up a lot in the last couple of years, so to have some type of correction is expected sooner or later, and it seems like we’re getting into that area,” Scoville said.—AP