Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is aggressively promoting the sale of rice, leading the way with a government-to-government deal of 1 million tonnes with Indonesia, as well as another 1 million tons with the private sector.

The aim is to achieve total exports of no less than 8.5 million tons by the end of this year.

The Commerce Minister expressed concern about the perception of government-to-government sales, fearing that people may cling to the old image of the government selling rice at low prices. However, he urged a fresh perspective, as the state will now act as a guarantor for both government and private sector sales. Furthermore, negotiations for rice sales with other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Africa, and Iran, are also in the pipeline.

Phumtham will be in the US from today (January 17) until January 22 to negotiate the expansion of the rice market, promote trade and investment relations and seek new rice importers in the U.S. market.

From January to November last year, Thailand exported 7.94 million tonnes of rice, a 14.7% increase from the same period the previous year. The value of these exports amounted to 159.55 billion baht, marking a 28.9% increase.

Thailand’s top rice export markets were Indonesia with 1.27 million tonnes, followed by Africa with 876,184 tonnes, Iraq at 814,805 tonnes, the US at 648,946 tonnes and China at 367,204 tonnes.

Published Date: January 17, 2024