Thailand producing more rice

BANGKOK, November 1 (TNA) - The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) says that Thailand is producing more rice, but domestic consumption of grains has been declining in both urban and rural areas and prices of exported Thai rice on the world market have also been falling. According to TDRI, last year each urban person in Thailand ate only 84 kilograms of rice, down from 93 kilograms per person in 2002; while a rural person ate only 99 kilograms of rice last year, down from 114 kilograms in 2002. TDRI found, however, that Thailand's production of rice has grown by 24 per cent annually on average for the yearly-first crop and by 3.58 per cent annually for the yearly-second crop due to increased productivity, paddy fields and cultivation frequencies. TDRI acknowledged that the share of exported Thai rice on the world market has now dropped to 27.3 per cent, from 32.2 per cent, amid declining global rice prices due to lower global consumption and increased productivity. TDRI suggested that parties concerned develop rice varieties to increase their yields, covering the improvement of popular fragrant Thai rice strains to raise their values and competitiveness, and local farmers use more machines in their farmlands to further raise their productivity. (TNA)