Thailand has no plans to restrict rice exports: official
Thailand has no plans to limit rice exports despite growing food security fears worldwide, according to Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) under the Thai Commerce Ministry.
Thailand has no plans to limit rice exports despite growing food security fears worldwide. (Photo: Bangkok Post)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand has no plans to limit riceexports despite growing food security fears worldwide, according to PimchanokVonkorpon, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO)under the Thai Commerce Ministry.
Local media on April 2 quoted Vonkorpon as saying that theTPSO has been monitoring global rice markets during the pandemic, with many keyrice exporters such as India, China and Vietnam halting shipments to ensuresufficient food supplies domestically.
She said Thailand is unlikely to experience any food or riceshortages, as domestic consumer demand accounts for just 50 percent of the totalproduction. Even if both export demand and domestic consumption increase asmore people stay home, a shortage is unlikely, she added.
Thailand’s existing rice stocks can accommodate domesticrice consumption for up to six months until the next annual harvest season.Nevertheless, the ministry has requested the private sector help maintainstocks to ensure adequate domestic supply, the official said.
Thailand is currently the world’s second biggest riceexporter, after India, which produces over 20 million tonnes of rice annually.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai RiceExporters Association (TREA), said that with the spread of COVID-19 worldwide,many rice exporters and importers like Indonesia, the Philippines and Singaporehave beefed up their domestic food security, but Thailand shows no signs oflimiting rice exports.
Thailand will continue exporting rice as usual, and thecountry expects to be able to export 7 – 8 million tonnes this year, Chookiatsaid./.
Thailand’s rice packers warn that packaged rice prices are likely to increase further after domestic rice prices rose by 20-30 percent since the start of the year, mostly due to drought and a sharp rise in demand amid of COVID-19 outbreak.
Rice is one of the rare commodities that is not being seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with both export volume and value increasing in the first two months of 2020.
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Thailand has no plans to limit rice exports despite growing food security fears worldwide. (Photo: Bangkok Post)
