BANGKOK, 9 August 2015 – Thailand is hopeful to become the number one rice exporter of the world this year despite the decline in exports due to the global economic situation, says the deputy government spokesman.
The Deputy Government Spokesman, Sansern Kaewkamnerd, has said that Thailand is positive to remain as the number one rice exporter to the world in terms of quantity and trade value despite the decline in global economic growth and negative export values in several countries.
According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, Thailand was the number one rice exporter in the first half of this year with an amount of exported rice at 4.46 million tons valued at 72.142 billion baht, while the runner up for rice exports was India with an export of 4.25 million tons.
It is expected that the amount of exports in the second half of this year will increase as many countries have expedited imports of rice from Thailand due to concerns regarding the current drought situation. The weakened Thai baht currency also contributes to an increased pricing competitiveness of Thai export products to other countries, the Deputy Government Spokesman has said.
The Thai government is still confident in Thai entrepreneurs as the country is among those with lower declines in export value when compared to other countries. Thailand has seen a decrease by 4.8 percent in its export, 79 percent in import, and 3.47 percent surplus in trade balance.
Many Thai export products have also shown positive growth, reflecting their growth potential despite the global recession and the capability of Thai products to penetrate the global market.
The Deputy Government Spokesman has revealed the export products that have shown positive growth in the first six months of this year. Among these were electric transformers and parts, which have grown by 10.66 percent, condensers by 28.3 percent, cement by 8.81 percent, motorcycles and its parts by 6.75 percent, other vehicles and parts by 38.27 percent, and tapioca products with 18.10 percent. The overall export value was at 2.05 billion US dollars.
