Thai rice faces mounting competition, high costs

Thailand's rice exports are projected to decline by 33% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

During January-February, the country exported a total of 1.1 million tons of rice, down 32% annually, with white rice exports facing the steepest decline.

President of the association Charoen Laothammatas predicted that the figure will reach 7.5 million tonnes this year, a 24.2% drop from last year’s 9.94 million tons.

Two key factors behind the decline are India’s resumption of white rice exports after a two-year suspension and a global rice production hike of 10 million tons. Charoen noted that the strengthening of the Thai baht poses another challenge.

In terms of value, Thai rice remains the priciest in the global market. As of February, Thailand’s 5% broken white rice was priced at $415-419 per ton, compared to $393-397 per ton for Vietnamese rice, $406-410 per ton for Indian rice, and $382-386 per ton for Pakistani rice.