Commerce Ministry notes six-month achievements
In the first six months of the 2015 fiscal year, the Commerce Ministry helped sell about 3 million tonnes of rice, through auctions and deals with other governments, worth Bt36 billion, Commerce Ministry Chatchai Sarikalya told a news conference yesterday
It also promoted export-oriented products such as rice, rice products, food supplements and beverages at trade exhibitions here and overseas, he said.
Last year, Thailand’s rice exports exceeded 10 million tonnes.
In the past six months, rice auctions were held six times and four government-to-government contracts for new-season rice sales have been made for a total of 3 million tonnes. Of that total, 400,000 tonnes were sold to China, 500,000 tonnes to the Philippines and 150,000 tonnes to Indonesia. Deals on sales of around another 2.6 million tonnes are under negotiation, he said.
In the six-month period, the value of Thai exports reached US$92 billion (nearly Bt3 trillion), down 0.88 per cent year on year because of the slow global economic recovery, sharp currency depreciations among Thailand’s trade rivals compared with the baht, and sharp drops in the prices of oil and crops.
To help maintain Thailand’s major export markets, the ministry held big exhibitions to allow foreign buyers to select products, led Thai exporters to hold activities abroad, and established measures to penetrate new export markets.
Other measures included urging large operators to help small and medium-sized enterprises penetrate overseas markets. About 5,000 operators have participated in that project.
The ministry has also initiated measures to help boost border trade, targeting its value to rise by 35 per cent year on year to Bt1.5 trillion in 2015.
It also set up AEC Business Support Centres in eight Asean countries to provide in-depth trade information.