Thai rice exports for the first five months of this year increased 16.5% year on year, to 4,057,711 tonnes, worth 94.6 billion baht, but exports in the third quarter are expected to drop, compared to the first half of 2024, said Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
In May, however, he said that rice exports dropped 29.3%, to 659,566 tonnes, worth about 16.1 billion baht, mainly due to a decrease in orders for white and parboiled rice.
Thailand’s main markets for white rice remain the Philippines, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Angola, Malaysia, Cameroon and Mozambique, while major markets for Thai parboiled rice are South Africa and Benin.
The main markets for Thai Hom Mali fragrant rice are the United States, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, China and Australia. Exports in May increased 7.4%, to 109,218 tonnes, compared to April.
Charoen said that the prices of Thai rice are comparatively much higher than that produced by India, Vietnam and Pakistan, adding that this price difference has prompted the Philippines and Indonesia to increase rice imports from Vietnam.
The export price of 5% Thai white rice, quoted on June 26, was US$603/tonne, compared to Vietnam’s US$560-565 and Pakistan’s US$575-580. The export price of Thai parboiled rice was quoted at US$606/tonne, compared to India’s US$540-545 and Pakistan’s US$590-594.
India remained the world’s largest rice exporter in the first five months of this year, with 7.20 million tonnes, a 25.4% drop, followed by Thailand’s 4.06 million tonnes, an increase of 16.5% year on year, Vietnam’s 4.03 million tonnes, an 11.2% increase, Pakistan’s 3.02 million tonnes, up 72.5%, and the US’s 1.5 million tonnes, up 66.7%.
The top five importers of Thai rice in the first five months were Indonesia, 914,760 tonnes, up 96.6%, Iraq, 363,438 tonnes, down 38.7%, the US, 344,873 tonnes, up 15.8%, the Philippines, 280,522 tonnes, up 362.1%, and South Africa, 229,369 tonnes, down 36.9%.
