Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn said the Foreign Trade Department will sign on behalf of the Thai government a G2G contract with the Indonesian government, in which the latter will purchase 500,000 tons of rice from Thailand.
The deal would consist of 50,000 tons of five percent rice and 450,000 tons of 15 percent white rice. The rice, which is from the latest crop season, will be delivered in batches starting this month until March next year.
The government has also been able to sell 300,000 tons of rice to the Philippines and another 300,000 tons to China. The government is currently in the process of signing another G2G contract with China, to sell an additional amount of one million tons of rice. The total G2G rice deals have amounted to 2 million tons.
Meanwhile, many countries have suffered from droughts, the impacts of which are expected to be felt through to next year. Therefore, demand for rice is set to increase, creating a good opportunity for Thai rice exports. The Commerce Minister expressed confidence that rice exports this year will meet the 10-million-ton target.
