LOWER U.S. RICE STOCKS, STRONG EXPORTS - USDA Rising demand for U.S. rice may gradually reduce surpluses while a marketing loan should help increase the U.S. share of the world rice market despite sluggish trade this year, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. In its quarterly rice outlook and situation summary, the department said U.S. rice use may surpass production during the 1986/87 marketing year, causing stocks to fall about 10 mln hundredweight from a year earlier to an estimated 67 mln cwt on July 31. Long grain acreage as a percentage of total acreage is expected to decline this year, the report said. USDA said factors once supportive of increased long grain acreage have turned around. Domestic prices of medium grain relative to long grain have increased, the loan differential has been greatly reduced and increases in long grain yields relative to those of other classes have leveled off. With the drop in domestic prices resulting from the marketing loan, domestic rice use is expected to grow at a faster rate, USDA said. "Development of new products and increased promotion have helped make rice more available and visible to a wider range of consumers," USDA said. USDA said world trade is expected to fall in 1987 because of large production and stocks but a weaker market should affect competing exporters more than the U.S. "The United States has already recovered a substantial share of the European Community market and made inroads into markets in the Middle East and Africa," the report said. World rice consumption is projected to reach record levels in 1986/87, the report said, as higher per capita incomes, increased domestic production and low import prices have allowed people in many countries to substitute rice for coarse grains. China, India and South Korea have increased output, while the Middle East and Africa have doubled imports since the mid-1970s, the report said.