Thai rice exports in the first half of the year exceed 5.08 million tons, worth over 117 billion baht, an increase of 55.50%

Thai rice exports

Rice is the most important economic crop of Thailand, cultivated on an area of over 50 million rai and with an average production volume of over 25 million tons per year. Rice exports are therefore an important pillar of the Thai economy, generating enormous income for the country and contributing to continuous economic growth.

Over the past decades, Thailand has emerged as the world’s largest rice exporter, accounting for more than 25% of global rice exports. Factors contributing to Thailand’s success in rice export include its ideal geographical location for rice cultivation, a skilled workforce, and government policies that support rice exports.

There are many types of rice exported from Thailand, with the most important types being white rice, jasmine rice, and glutinous rice. White rice is the most popular type in the world market because it is cheap and can be used in a variety of dishes.

Jasmine rice is a rice with a unique aroma and is popular among middle and high-end consumers. Sticky rice is the most popular rice consumed in Thailand and neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. Thailand exports rice to more than 150 countries worldwide.

The major export markets are China, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. In recent years, Thailand has faced increasing competition from other rice exporting countries such as India and Vietnam.

However, the Thai government has taken various measures to maintain the country’s competitiveness, including improving rice varieties, increasing production efficiency, and promoting the marketing of Thai rice abroad.

Mr. Ronnarong Poolpipat, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, revealed that Thai rice exports in the first 6 months of 2024 (January-June) amounted to 5.08 million tons, an increase of 25.12%, with a value of 117,836 million baht (approximately 3,304 million US dollars), an increase of 55.50%.

This has benefited from the fact that rice importers have a need to import rice for consumption and to store as stock for food security. In addition, India still has measures to control rice exports and the baht has weakened to around 36–37 baht per US dollar, making Thai rice prices competitive.

The department also met with the Thai Rice Exporters Association to discuss the outlook for Thai rice exports in the second half of 2024. They agreed to adjust this year’s export target to 8.2 million tons from the original 7.5 million tons, with positive factors from major importing countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, which have a demand for rice imports.

To alleviate the impact of inflation and drought, the Philippine government has ordered a reduction in the rice import tariff from 35% to 15% until 2028 to control inflationary pressures on domestic rice products. It is expected that this year the Philippines will likely import up to 4.70 million tons of rice, while Indonesia is likely to import approximately 3.60–4.30 million tons of rice, depending on production volume. This is an opportunity for rice exports by exporting countries, especially Thailand.

Meanwhile, there is also support from the volume of Thai wet-season rice production that will be released to the market in the last quarter of this year, which is expected to increase from the previous year due to increased rainfall and water for cultivation due to the easing of El Nino, resulting in Thai rice prices tending to decrease and become more competitive.

However, it is necessary to monitor India’s rice export measures, as the Indian government may relax export controls before the main rice production season is released to the market in October 2024. In addition, it is predicted that the rice production volume of rice exporting countries, namely Vietnam, Pakistan, Myanmar and Cambodia, will increase.

There is an increasing trend, resulting in increased rice production in the world market and relatively high price competition. In addition, there are risk factors from geopolitical conflicts that may affect energy product prices and the fluctuation of shipping rates that affect increased transportation costs. These are all challenging factors that may affect Thai rice exports in the second half of 2024.

For the expansion of the rice market in the rest of this year, the department plans to organize activities including organizing the Thai Rice Networking Forum 2024 to invite experts in the global rice trade industry to meet and exchange information on the global rice market situation and strengthen relationships with rice trading partner networks.

Organizing the mobile Thailand Rice Convention (TRC) to organize seminars to share information on global rice demand trends to rice farmers to encourage them to produce rice that meets market demand even more, as well as organizing discussions to strengthen relationships with major rice importers and continuously participating in international trade fairs.

Source: Thairath