The rice market could ease next year as Thailand, the world's top-ranked exporter, loosens its grip on its record inventories, US staff has said, just as the world's biggest importer, the Philippines, faces a jump in prices.

Thai rice exports could jump back to 10m tonnes, nearly in line with 2008 levels, from 8.6m this year if the country opens up its storerooms, which have kept on filling since a stockpiling initiative started during last year's price spike.

"If the government releases stocks, global prices should ease in the first half of 2010," a briefing from US Department of Agriculture staff in Bangkok said.

Even if the government does loosen its grip, stocks look on course set a record in 2010 for a second successive year.

'Really high' 

The report comes amid a rally which drove prices to 11-month highs in Chicago last week, and has left the Philippines looking at a hike of up to 10% in a week in the cost of its imports.

Last week, the country, whose import needs have been swollen by storm damage to domestic crops, was offered rice at $598-697 a tonne.

The latest offer was "really high", said Ludovico Jarina, deputy administrator of the National Food Authority, the Philippines's state grain agency.

"But I'm not really surprised because you are looking at the world market and the world market price is moving up," he added.

Record stocks 

Thailand's rice stocks look set to jump by 80% this year to a record 4.01m tonnes, thanks an export squeeze caused by government hoarding, the US briefing added.

And they look set to jump a further 30% to 5.21m tonnes next year, helped by a rise of nearly 1m tonnes in 2009-10 production to its highest since at least the 1990s.

State support for farmers has created "low levels of perceived risk" among farmers for second-crop production, despite reservoirs holding below-normal water levels.