Thai rice export target set at 7.5 tonnes this year, down from 2022
Thailand expects to export about 7.5 million tonnes of rice this year, down from 7.69 million tonnes last year, the Foreign Trade Department said on Tuesday.
The department's director-general, Ronnarong Phoolpipat, said rice exports last year had exceeded the target of 7.5 million tonnes, mainly because of the depreciation of baht, which dropped to around 38 baht to the US dollar.
Last year’s rice export was 22.06% higher year on year in terms of volume, while rice export value was US$3.971 billion, up 14.67% year on year, Ronnarong said.
He said the top five markets for Thai rice exports last year were:
- Iraq, 1.6 million tonnes, up 458%
- South Africa, 775,000 tonnes, down 2.26%
- China, 745,200 tonnes, up 18.81%
- United States, 653,000 tonnes, up 13.21%
- Benin, 320,000 tonnes, down 15.38%
He explained that the baht had appreciated to about 32.50-33.00 baht against the US dollar, but it was expected to depreciate to 35-40 baht by the middle of the year and appreciate again later this year.
Ronnarong added that his department would hold several activities this year to promote rice exports, including holding the Thailand Rice Convention 2023 and sending delegations of state officials and private firms to visit trading partner nations, such as Germany, China, United Arab Emirates and Australia.
