Thai rice in demand on overseas markets

BANGKOK, March 5 (TNA) - Thai rice has been in good demand on overseas markets despite some impacts from the appreciation of the Thai baht since early this year. The Thai Rice Exporters Association reported on Monday that the country's rice exports totaled 961,859 tons in January 2018, worth about 15.49 billion baht or 474 million US dollars, a 16.8 per cent year-on-year increase in quantity and a 24.9 per cent year-on-year increase in value. The association said that demand for Thai rice remains good in foreign markets later this year, including such major markets as the United States, Hong Kong, China, where most purchase orders are Thai fragrant or Hom Mali rice, as well as the Philippines, Japan, Bangladesh and African countries, where purchase orders are focused on white and parboiled rice. However, the association cautioned that the appreciation of the Thai baht appears to begin affecting the country's rice exports, as shipments of Thai grains to overseas markets in January dropped by 16.7 per cent in quantity and 13.8 per cent in value when compared with those in December 2017. The association anticipated that the amount of Thai rice exports should continue to decline last month, when compared with January, as the appreciation of the Thai baht has caused shipments of Thai rice to be more expensive than those of rival exporters, coupled with limited supply for the Thai fragrant rice alone. According to the association, the price of Thai Hom Mali rice for the 2017/2018 harvest year now stands at about 1,135 US dollars per ton, compared with about 650 US dollars per ton and about 880 US dollars per ton for Vietnamese and Cambodian fragrant rice respectively. (TNA)