The department director-general, Kirati Ratchano, explained that the Council of the Foreign Trade Chamber had announced since late September that zero tax would collected from rice and paddy from September 11 to December 31. This measure is to ensure food stability in Brazil amid the Covid-19 crisis, he added.
Kirati said that previously Thailand paid 12 per cent tariff on the export of rice and paddy to Brazil. In September and October, Thai rice exports to Brazil totalled 28,163 tonnes -- more than 433 tonnes exported in 2019 -- worth $12.55 million (Bt390 million).