The Prime Minister praised the work to raise agricultural productivity. In the first 6 months of 2024, 4.79 million tons of rice were exported, an increase of 17.98%, with a total trade value of 110 billion baht, reflecting the success of measures to promote rice quality. He also kept an eye on the Philippines, an interesting market that imports Thai rice at high prices and volumes.
Mr. Chai Wachirong, spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office, revealed that Mr. Settha Thavisin, Prime Minister, is accelerating the promotion of quality and expansion of agricultural product exports, especially rice, Thailand’s most important agricultural product. The latest data from the Ministry of Commerce indicates that rice exports in the first 6 months of 2024 (January – June 2024) have continued to increase in both volume and value. The Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, stated that Thailand exported a total of 4.79 million tons of rice, with a total value of approximately 111,738 million baht, an increa
se of 17.98% in volume and 47.46% in value, with an average export price per ton of 23,327 baht (654.28 US dollars per ton), an increase of 24.98% from the same period in 2023.
The government spokesman said that the government has continuously implemented measures to promote the quality of Thai rice, both in terms of increasing production, increasing selling prices, helping to ease the burden on farmers, and expanding export markets. Of the total proportion of Thai rice exports, Thailand exports the most white rice at 64.53%, followed by Thai Jasmine Rice at 16.26%, Parboiled Rice at 9.11%, Thai Aromatic Rice at 6.40%, Glutinous Rice at 3.45%, and Husked (brown) Rice at 0.25%. The exports are mainly to markets in Asia (44.33%), Africa (26.60%), the Middle East (12.32%), America (11.33%), Europe (2.96%), and Oceania (2.46%).
In addition, the government is ready to prepare a plan to promote and expand the market, strengthen relations with trading partners, maintain existing markets, and increase new markets f
or exporting to foreign countries. It has searched for markets that demand rice from Thailand, including making agreements at both multilateral and bilateral levels to reduce trade barriers.
The Philippines is one of the target markets for driving volume and value. The Philippines has reduced the import tariff of rice from abroad to 15% until 2028 due to high demand for rice imports. This is an important opportunity for Thai rice producers and exporters to increase export volume. On July 3-5, 2024, the Ministry of Commerce led a team of rice trade representatives to negotiate and sign 9 memorandums of understanding with rice importers from the Philippines, totaling 130,000 tons, worth over 2,800 million baht. As for the statistics of Thai rice exports to the Philippines during January-June 2024, the volume was approximately 299,787 tons, an increase of 381.66% from the same period last year, and the value was approximately 167 million dollars, an increase of 558.97% from the same period last year.
‘The Prim
e Minister is confident in the quality of Thai agricultural products and is committed to promoting standardized products, increasing export volume and value. The fact that Thailand is able to export more rice is a tool to prove the quality of Thai rice, which is in demand in the world market, and also indicates that the government’s negotiation policy with trading partners has been successful, resulting in an increase in rice exports in all dimensions in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year, increasing Thailand’s economic value and increasing farmers’ income,’ said Mr. Chai. 314.-Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency
