Hunt for new rice markets a priority

TREA president Charoen Laothamatas said the association was scheduled to join many trade missions with the Ministry of Commerce because Thailand needed to aggressively promote its rice plans and activities to “knock on the doors” of potential new importers.

“Due to the lowering oil price, some major import countries such as Nigeria and other countries in Africa, where their incomes have relied mainly on the oil price, could be affected and cause a lower order for rice,” he said.

“The ministry and the association thus have plans to promote more rice sales to other potential markets such as Iran, Iraq, and other countries in the Middle East to encourage them to buy Thai rice.”

Charoen said that Iran and Iraq used to be major Thai rice importers, but they suspended imports for a few years due to a defaulted contract with a private exporter. Now was a good time to boost the confidence of those countries, he added. 

Under the Commerce Ministry plan, Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya will visit Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Italy, and Indonesia. Charoen said that rice exports this year should be as high as last year – up to 11 million tonnes – due to high demand in the world market and drought problems in some rice-producing countries.

He said the price of Thai rice was expected to be steady this year. The price has climbed slightly over the past few months due to the strengthening baht. 

At the moment, the export price of rice is quoted at US$405-$410 (Bt13,200-Bt13,350) for 5 per cent white rice, while Vietnamese rice is quoted $370 per tonne.