Singapore buys 22,000 tonnes of Thai rice

BANGKOK, November 12 (TNA) - Singapore has signed a contract to buy 22,000 tonnes of Thai fragrant rice, worth about 720 million baht, and expressed interest in purchasing another 2,000 tonnes of Thai glutinous rice. Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn told journalists on Thursday that the decision to buy the Thai fragrant rice, widely known as Hom Mali rice, which is Thailand’s premium grade grains, by the island state, came after rice importers from Singapore inspected rice production in Ubon Ratchathani Province in the Thai Northeast last week. Apiradi said the Singapore rice importers also expressed their interest in buying another 2,000 tonnes of Thai glutinous rice, but the contract has not yet been concluded pending further negotiations. Singapore has steadily increased rice imports from Thailand, having purchased about 99,200 tonnes of rice, worth about 2.78 billion baht, from the Thai Kingdom since early this year. (TNA)