Shippers upbeat on Thai rice price levels

As long as India maintains its ban on white rice exports, local shippers remain optimistic that Thai rice prices should stay relatively high in the first half of this year. According to Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, prices in the global market are likely to hover around US$600 per tonne, which is the highest in more than a decade as demand remains robust from various countries. Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan are the main rice-exporting countries in Asia. Mr Chookiat also anticipates Indonesia continuing its rice imports this year, although possibly at a lower quantity than the previous year, when it bought almost 4 million tonnes from many countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Myanmar. He said rice exports last year likely totalled 8.8-8.9 million tonnes, surpassing the previous projection of 8.5 million tonnes, with an estimated value of 180 billion baht as prices increased. In November 2022, rice exports reached 1 ...