BANGKOK, June 20 – The price of Thai rice tends to rise continuously and could reach Bt10,000 per tonne in the second half of this year, according to Thai Rice Exporters Association.
Association president Korbsook Iamsuri spoke at the Thailand Rice Convention, linking public and private sector participants from over 50 countries to exchange knowledge and to push Thailand as the world hub for rice markets, that Thai rice’s price has been increasing.
The price of unmilled paddy stands at Bt9,000-9,500, the price of Thai rice exports per tonne is at US$580-590. The higher prices are due to it being the end of the growing season and some rice mills stock up their rices for profit speculation in case of rice mortgage programme, which will push the price of Thai rice higher.
Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai said the ministry will introduce measures to export at least 10 million tonnes of unmilled rice in order that Thailand can maintain its position as the world’s premier rice exporter.
According to Ms Pornthiva, Thailand exported 9.05 million tonnes of rice last year, amounting to US$5.3 billion. The country is expected to have all rice production of over 20.26 million tonnes this year.
However, the private sector is concerned that if the price of Thai rice does not reflect market movements, foreign rice buyers will opt instead to buy rice from other countries. Thai sellers prefer the rice price guarantee policy to the rice mortgage programme, for the former does not impact the market mechanism.
The quantity of Thai rice exported in the first half of this year reached almost 6 million tonnes. (MCOT online news)
