At 7:15 a.m. EDT on Friday, the rough rice contract for July delivery was down 3% or $0.61, trading at $19.73 per 100 pounds on CBOT. It dipped by as much as 4.9% in early Asian trading, sources said. Bloomberg estimates that if current downward trends persist, rice prices are heading for their biggest weekly decline in nearly four years.

The fall in prices came as Pakistan, the world's fifth-biggest exporter, said it would permit shipments of 1 million tonnes of rice. It had halted shipments since May 2.

Prices were further affected by the Japanese government initiating talks with Philippines about shipments from Japan's stocks of overseas rice, according to local media reports. However, CBOT traders warned against overt optimism.

One trader said, "The downward price movement is positive news in terms of global affordability permutations. However, we are in early days. It would be wise to remember that some of the biggest rice exporters including Vietnam and India still have rice export curbs in place and Pakistan only gave a temporary reprieve earlier on Friday."

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