Thai rice on top of US import list

BANGKOK, March 22 (TNA) - The United States has reported that Thai rice was on the top of its list of imported grains in 2016. The US Department of Agriculture was quoted as saying by Thailand's commercial office in Washington that the United States imported 753,320 tons of rice totally last year, worth 654.60 million US dollars, most of which, or 457,040 tons, were purchased from Thailand. Thai Permanent Secretary for Commerce Wiboonlak Ruamrak told journalists on Wednesday that the overall Thai rice shipments to the US market last year accounted for 60.67 per cent of Washington's total imports of grains, worth more than 380 million US dollars. According to the US Department of Agriculture's report, publicly released last month, global rice produce in the 2016-2017 harvest year is expected to total 480.10 million tons, a 1.7 per cent increase from the previous year, while global rice stocks and global rice trade in the 2016-2017 harvest year are foreseen to stand at 118 million tons and 41.5 million tons, a 1.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent increase from the previous year respectively. The US Department of Agriculture also forecast that Thai rice exports to the world market should reach 10 million tons totally in the 2016-2017 harvest year, comparable to the previous year and slated the world's second largest rice exporter, after India. The senior Commerce Ministry official acknowledged her ministry has also targeted that total Thai rice export this year should reach 10 million tons. To achieve the target, the senior official noted, her ministry will launch public relations (PR) campaigns and send trade negotiation teams to promote Thai rice in the United States in particular. Besides, her ministry's Department of Foreign Trade will organize the "Thailand Rice Convention 2017" event in the country during May 28-30, in which leading US rice traders and innovative rice produce operators will be invited to participate, aimed to promote and boost purchase orders of Thai rice by the US firms. (TNA)