Iran has agreed to buy 250,000 tonnes of Thai rice under a government-to-government contract, according to Deputy Prime Minister/Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan.
The commerce minister said the agreement was reached during his visit to Iran last month. Both countries approved the government-to-government rice contract and the first batch of 250,000 tonnes of rice will be delivered in October.
He added that Iran wants additional Thai rice of at least 750,000 tonnes. It is expected that Iran will purchase at least 500,000 tonnes of Thai rice next year.
He said Thailand plans to negotiate rice deals with other countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East.
Brushing aside concerns over tainted rice, the Thai minister assured Iran that Thai rice is up to standard and rice quality checks are allowed before delivery to ensure quality.
This year, Thailand has so far delivered three million tonnes of rice under government-to-government contracts, the minister added.
Niwatthamrong said Thailand’s rice export target this year remains unchanged at 8.5 million tonnes, although exports of only six million tonnes rice is estimated by commercial rice exporters.
