May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Rice rose, heading for the biggest weekly gain since reaching a record last month, as Nigeria and the Philippines sought to buy more, further straining global supplies after a cyclone devastated crops in Myanmar.

The Philippines, the world's largest importer, is in talks with rice exporters Thailand and Vietnam, National Food Authority spokesman Tomas Escarez said today. Nigeria, the second-largest buyer, wants 500,000 metric tons from Thailand, said Bhartendu Pandey, a trader at Thai Maparn Trading Co.

Rice has jumped 9.7 percent this week on the Chicago Board of Trade. Flooding from a May 3 cyclone may limit Myanmar's main rice crop. Rice, wheat, corn and soybeans have risen to records this year, prompting the United Nations to call for emergency aid to relieve a global food crisis that has caused riots from Haiti to Egypt.

``The cyclone damage in the country has again highlighted tight global supplies of rice,'' Kenji Kobayashi, an analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management Co., said by telephone from Tokyo today. ``The rice price is now set to retest the previous peak.''

Rice futures for July delivery rose 62.5 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $22.975 per 100 pounds in Chicago, after earlier gaining the exchange's daily limit of $1.15 to $23.50. The trading limit was increased twice after gains of 75 cents yesterday and 50 cents on May 7. The most-active contract, which has more than doubled in the past year, reached a record $25.07 on April 24.

Imports Sought

Nigeria, the world's second-largest rice importer, on May 7 suspended levies on imports for six months and offered subsidized seedlings to farmers to curb rising food prices.

Thailand, the world's largest supplier, is the only shipper that hasn't curbed exports this year as the World Food Programme warned of a ``silent famine'' caused by spiraling food prices. Palm oil also has risen to records this year on increased demand from consumers and investors.

Money invested in funds tracking the two most popular commodity indexes jumped 48 percent so far this year, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. said April 30. Investments following the Standard & Poor's GSCI index and Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index have risen to $250 billion from $169 billion at the start of the year.

French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier on May 7 urged limits to speculation in food-related commodities. India banned futures trading in commodities including chickpeas.

Rising Prices

Corn rose to a record $6.39 a bushel today on the Chicago Board of Trade, and soybeans surged 3.7 percent to $13.58 a bushel. Wheat for July delivery fell 17.5 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $8.045 a bushel. Wheat still is up 71 percent in the past year.

Grain prices are rising as the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates about 33 percent of the nation's corn will be used for fuel including ethanol during the next decade, up from 11 percent in 2002.

Rice ``will go up further,'' said Thai Maparn's Pandey, speaking by phone from Bangkok. ``India and Vietnam are not going to supply anything.''

India's Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters today that India, the world's second-biggest rice producer after China, may partly ease its ban on overseas sales.

Thailand agreed yesterday to sell 500,000 tons of rice to Malaysia.

The Philippines was in talks with Thailand and Vietnam for long-term contracts that would allow the National Food Authority to buy the staple through government-to-government agreements, possibly eliminating the need for more tenders this year, spokesman Escarez said.

Canceled Tender

On May 5, the Philippines canceled a tender to buy 675,000 tons of rice to build stockpiles after just one company submitted an offer. Japan offered to ship 60,000 tons of rice to the Philippines to help the nation resupply, Escarez said.

Philippine companies, including Jollibee Foods Corp., and farmers' cooperatives sought today to buy 21,560 tons of rice from Thailand and China, according to National Food Authority Assistant Administrator Conrad Ibanez. That's less than 8 percent of the total of private-sector shipments allowed this year.

The damage from Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar's main rice- growing area has stoked speculation, including from the Thai Rice Exporters Association, that the country may be forced to abandon exports and seek supplies on the international market.

Myanmar Exports Threatened

Myanmar had been expected to export 600,000 tons of rice this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization has said. The Rome-based United Nations agency had forecast world rice exports at 29.9 million tons.

The five provinces that bore the brunt of the typhoon account for about two-thirds of the nation's rice output. The storm flooded 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) of farmland in the Irrawaddy delta.

Rice may exceed $30 per 100 pounds in Chicago, Kanetsu's Kobayashi said.

Still, ``I don't see that this rally in rice prices will be sustained,'' said Simon Roberts, head of agricultural commodities at ANZ Banking Group Ltd. ``You'll see a supply response at some point to these prices.''

To contact the reporters for this story: Rattaphol Onsanit in Bangkok at ronsanit@bloomberg.net; Luzi Ann Javier in Manila ljavier@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 9, 2008 16:42 EDT