Bangkok – The problem of the baht’s appreciation by five percent since the beginning of the year has affected the export of Thai products, especially rice which is priced higher than that of the country’s rivals. In the first half of this year, Thailand exported 4.36 million tons of rice, down by 19 percent year-on-year.
Thai Rice Exporters Association President, Police Lieutenant Charoen Laothammathas, said the Indian rupee has depreciated while the Vietnamese dong remains stable causing the prices of white rice produced by Thailand to be higher than those of competing countries, especially Thai Jasmine rice with an export price as high as 1,050 US dollars per ton while the average price of Vietnamese jasmine rice is only 550 US dollars per ton.
China also has a large amount of rice in stock, causing the demand for rice to decrease. Soft rice is popular among rice importers but Thailand still lacks this type. In June, Thailand could only export 570,000 tons of rice, down by 37.7 percent or the lowest since 2011.
The second half of the year is still causing concern as the baht appreciation and drought problems may cause the volume of rice to decrease and rice prices to increase further. Major rice importing countries have also reduced the volume of their rice imports. Thai rice exporters have accordingly lowered the targets for the year from 9.5 million tons to 9 million, worth about 4.7 billion US dollars.
