Thailand to boost rice exports to Singapore, Hong Kong

BANGKOK, March 12 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce will lead a Thai delegation of rice producers and exporters to visit Singapore and Hong Kong next week for trade and business matching events, aimed to further boost Thai exports of rice to the high potential markets. Caretaker Commerce Minister Chutima Bunyapraphasara told journalists on March 11 that her ministry's Department of Foreign Trade is scheduled to lead the Thai delegation of rice producers and exporters to visit Singapore and Hong Kong for the trade and business matching events during March 17-22. Chutima stated that the Thai delegation comprises of the department's officials and representatives of local rice cooperatives and community enterprises, as well as operators of innovative Thai rice products. Chutima said during the upcoming trip, the Thai delegation will also publicly showcase varieties of high quality Thai rice and innovative Thai rice products to create the public awareness on the good properties and image of Thai grains, as well as on the potential of Thai operators of innovative rice products with added market values. According to the caretaker minister, both Singapore and Hong Kong are among Thailand's most potential rice import markets, where consumers have high purchasing power, and the Thai rice, thus, now gains the largest market share in both the fast growing Asian economies. The caretaker minister acknowledged that such high quality and healthy Thai grains as brown rice, riceberry rice and RD43 white rice meet the demand of health-conscious consumers in both Singapore and Hong Kong. The caretaker minister expressed her hope that the upcoming trip of the Thai delegation should help boost the country's rice exports to both Singapore and Hong Kong this year, when her ministry maintains its projection of Thailand's total rice export at at least 10 million tons amid such risk factors as the unstable Thai baht and international trade. (TNA)