Rough Rice Futures

Rice is the staple food for the world’s two largest populations and fastest growing economies: India and China. Given this fact, it is unsurprising that the top three producers of rice in the world are China, India, and Indonesia, in that order. The term ‘rough rice’ refers to rice that has just come off the fields from harvest. Because it is such a necessity for literally billions of people, many traders and speculators find rough rice an attractive commodity to invest in.

Rough Rice Futures Contract Specifications
Contract Size	2,000 hundredweights (CWT) (~ 91 Metric Tons)
Price Quotation	Cents per hundredweight
Grade And Quality	U.S. No. 2 or better long grain rough rice with a total milling yield of not less than 65% including head rice of not less than 48%. Premiums and discounts are provided for each percent of head rice over or below 55%, and for each percent of broken rice over or below 15%. No heat-damaged kernels are permitted in a 500-gram sample and no stained kernels are permitted in a 500-gram sample. A maximum of 75 lightly discolored kernels are permitted in a 500-gram sample.
Trading Hours	Sunday – Friday 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. CT and
	Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. CT
Minimum Price Fluctuation	1/2 cent per hundredweight ($10.00 per contract)
Product Code	CME Globex: ZR
	CME ClearPort: 14
	Clearing: 14
Listed Contracts	January (F), March (H), May (K), July (N), September (U) & November (X)
Settlement Method	Deliverable
Last Trade Date	The business day prior to the 15th calendar day of the contract month.
Last Delivery Date	Seventh business day following the last trading day of the month.
Settlement Procedures	Rough Rice Futures Settlement Procedures
Exchange Rules	These contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of CBOT.
Source: CME Group

Rice Facts

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), rice farming is a high-cost, high-yielding, large-scale production section in the U.S. and depends on global markets for almost half its annual sales. The U.S. rice crop is grown in four regions across the country with three in the South and one in California. Each region specialize in their own type of rice grain that is described in length (long, medium, or short). There are four major types of rice that are produced worldwide:

• Indica – mainly grown in tropical and subtropical regions; accounts for over 75% of global trade
• Japonica – typically grown in regions with cooler climates; accounts for over 10% of global trade
• Aromatic – primarily jasmine from Thailand, and basmati from India and Pakistan; accounts for 12-13% of global trade sold at a premium
• Glutinous – mainly grown in Southeast Asia

The planting and harvesting season for U.S. rice begins in some regions in March, with some regions harvesting as late as November. All U.S. rice is grown in irrigated fields, which allows for some of the highest harvest yields in the world. The U.S. exports approximately half of their rice crop throughout the world, making up more than 10% of the total volume of global rice trade.

Last updated October 2015

Additional Info

Recent Posts on Rough Rice

• Trade Spotlight: Futures – Weekly Summary: Rough Rice, Euro (8/12/2022) - Stopped out of the Rough Rice contract for a profit. Bought the Euro Currency futures contract.
• Trade Spotlight: Futures – Weekly Summary: Rough Rice (8/5/2022) - Purchased the Rough Rice futures contract and already moved the stop loss to lock in profit.