By bnm Gulf bureau

Thailand has not exported a single shipment of rice to Iraq in the past three months, with deliveries halted entirely since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said, announced on May 10.

Food supplies across the Persian Gulf have dropped significantly in recent weeks as Iran continues to throttle access to the Indian Ocean for ships and containers. 

Iraq had previously been Thailand’s largest rice market, with Bangkok exporting between 80,000 and 90,000 tonnes a month, or close to 1mn tonnes a year, The Nation Thailand said in a report cited by the Iraqi outlet.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the war had brought a complete halt to shipments to Iraq, with one vessel forced to unload its cargo and return the goods to port after being unable to sail.

Thailand had lost more than 200,000 tonnes of rice exports to the Middle East over the past three months, the report said, with shipping and insurance costs rising by around 20% in line with higher global oil prices.

Thai rice exports reached only 2.2mn tonnes in the first four months of 2026, putting the annual target of 7mn tonnes at risk, according to the report.

Iraq is one of the largest rice importers in the Middle East, with Thailand long supplying a major share of the country’s white rice consumption alongside competing producers in India, Vietnam and Pakistan.

The closure of Iraqi-bound trade routes follows a wider disruption to maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war between Iran, Israel and the United States in late February.

Published Date: May 11, 2026