IN SHORT: Philippines to hold meeting on rice

Major rice buyer the Philippines could finalise the volume and timing of its 2012 rice imports on December 6 and start buying in January, an official said on Tuesday. "Preparation for any tender will take at least a month," National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Angelito Banayo told Reuters, indicating the country may not be able to buy rice as soon as next month.
Manila is expected to return to the market at a time rice prices are expected to be higher, with the benchmark 100 percent B grade Thai white rice forecast to rise about 4 percent from current levels by the end of 2011, a Reuters poll showed.