» Thailand will host a ‘Thailand Rice Convention 2015’

Thailand will host a ‘Thailand Rice Convention 2015’

Government Spokesperson revealed that due to concerns from the private sector concerning the rising price of Thai rice and its impact on Thailand’s exports, the Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Commerce to monitor the issue closely.

Capt. Yongyuth Mayalarp, M.D., Government Spokesperson, revealed that due to concerns from the private sector concerning the rising price of Thai rice and its impact on Thailand’s exports, the Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Commerce to monitor the issue closely. The Director General of the Foreign Trade Department reported that the contributing reason for the rising price of Thai rice in comparison to neighboring countries, is that competitor countries such as India and Vietnam had drained their excess supply of rice in stock, thus causing rice export prices to fall steadily. In addition, Thailand’s lower crop yield impacted by a drought this year, stagnant orders of Thai rice in first quarter and the Thai bath’s appreciation have all contributed to the rising price of Thai rice in comparison to that of neighboring countries. “In the past weeks, Thai baht had depreciated the most within the last five years, coupled with the Government’s efforts to push exports. In cooperation with the private sector, it is expected that the situation of rice exports will improve.” – said the Government Spokesperson.

The Government Spokesperson further stated that usually in the first quarter of each year, competitor countries would assess the production situation and the marketing conditions which had caused the trade to slowdown. Nonetheless, the demand for high quality rice has increased steadily. The public and private sectors as well as farmers must adapt to global trends and turn to producing high quality rice that can be sold at higher prices instead of producing crops at normal standards for export. Although the global economy is still recovering, many countries are still able to afford good quality rice, which this is a good opportunity for Thailand’s rice exports to grow. In addition, during bilateral meetings with other world leaders, the Prime Minister had presented high quality rice from Thailand into discussions, while the Minister of Commerce had also travelled overseas to explore new markets for Thai rice. During the latest trip to Kunming, Thailand entered into a Government-to-Government agreement to export rice to the People’s Republic of China, and is expected to export 100,000 tons of rice until the year 2016.

In addition, as the Philippines is preparing an auction of about 200,000-250,000 tons of rice, the Ministry of Commerce sees an opportunity to proactively cooperate closely with the private sector, to jointly promote marketing and implement other promotional activities to push the sale of Thailand’s quality rice to the global market.

“During 19-21 May, 2015, Thailand will host a ‘Thailand Rice Convention 2015’which is an international meeting for rice traders to meet and exchange views on the situation of the global rice market. The Prime Minister will chair the opening ceremony and deliver a speech. This is a good opportunity for Thailand to introduce our quality rice to traders, and promote sustainable rice exports.” – said the Government Spokesperson.