Thai rice exports expected to meet 10m tons in 2017

BANGKOK, April 21 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce says that overall Thai rice exports are expected to reach 10 million tons this year as targeted. Duangporn Rodphaya, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Foreign Trade, told journalists on April 20 that Thailad has sold more than 3.4 million tons of rice to importing markets so far this year, worth over 51 billion baht. Duangporn reported that the Thai rice exports since early this year were about 6.4 per cent year-on-year increase in quantity and 0.87 per cent year-on-year increase in value. The senior official said she, thus, believed that Thailand's total rice export in 2017 should reach 10 million tons as earlier targeted. Meanwhile, the senior official announced that a new official bidding, the first of its kind this year, for more than 1.03 million tons of the government's existing five-year rice stocks for industrial use, will be publicly opened for rice traders on April 28, after they are allowed to inspect the condition of the rice stocks at 157 government warehouses in 34 provinces across the country during April 19-25 and submit their qualifications for the bidding on April 26. (TNA)