BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): Thailand will likely achieve its goal of exporting 7.5 million tonnes of rice this year, and may even go beyond the target, the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) said.
Ronnarong Phoolpipat, the department’s director-general, said on Friday (Dec 16) that exporters have sought to ship out up to 8.58 million tonnes of rice this year, adding that the baht's exchange rate has made prices very competitive.
Also, he said Iraq’s import of 1.3 million tonnes of rice in the first 10 months of this year has helped rice exports grow by 500% year-on-year.
Export of rice to the US and the Philippines – both of which are Thailand’s key markets – has grown by 25% and 44% respectively.
Ronnaraong said he expects rice exports to rise further in 2023 thanks to the exchange rate and the easing of Covid-19 measures.
He also said Indonesia and Bangladesh have expressed interest in importing rice from Thailand because their harvests are not large enough to cover domestic demand.
He said DFT will meet key rice exporters next month to set an export target for 2023.
The department also plans to hold a Thailand Rice Convention next year, as well as participate in international fairs like Germany’s BioFach, UAE’s Gulfood 2023, Foodex 2023 in Japan, the China-Asean Expo 2023 and Fine Food 2023 in Australia to promote Thai rice.
