BANGKOK, 22 April 2011 – The Ministry of Commerce has revealed that the rising global demand has pushed up the domestic rice price to 8,200-8,300 THB per ton while this year’s rice exports have been above one million tons each month.
After giving a special lecture on the direction of Thai rice in the global market, Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Phuangrach pointed out that the domestic price of rice had climbed to 8,200-8,300 THB per ton in line with the mounting demand in the global market and had a tendency to edge up further to 9,000 THB. The current global price stands at 600 USD per ton.
Mr Yanyong also said during the first three months of this year, exports of Thai rice had totaled 3.05 million tons, or more than one million tons per month. The export volume for the whole year is expected to surpass the target of 9.5 million tons.
Even though new lots of rice are about to be released into the market in May and June, amounting to 4 million tons and 1.4 million tons, respectively, the Permanent Secretary believed they would not cause the price to drop. As for a potential surge in production cost resulting from the more expensive chemical fertilizers, the Government is seeking measures to shoulder the burden on farmers in order to allow them to earn profits of at least 3,000 THB per ton.
