Thai rice export target revised up

NONTHABURI, May 4 (TNA) – Commerce Ministry has revised Thai rice export target up in 2018 to 10 million tonnes from the previous target of 9.5 million tonnes. Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT), Adul Chotinisakorn said about Thai rice exports this year that as of April 17, Thailand has already exported 3.3 million tonnes of rice, worth US$1.8 billion, outpacing its competitors like India, Vietnam, and Pakistan. Most exported rice in the first four months was white rice, accounting for 48.74 per cent, followed by parboiled rice at 27.70 per cent and Hom Mali or jasmine fragrant rice at 16.19 per cent. Thai rice prices rise constantly and jasmine rice price stays around US$1,150 per tonne. Thailand will deliver more 100,000 tonnes to China under the G2G trade this month while the country also won biddings to sell over 300,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines and Indonesia. He said overseas marketing activities such as roadshows will help promote Thai rice consumption and exports to Asia and Europe. (TNA)