Association president Chookiat Ophawongse said yesterday that Thai rice exports would increase in volume next year and the price would be higher.

While the new target is higher than the 7.5 million-tonne figure previously set, it still falls short of the record set four years ago, when exports exceeded 10 million tonnes.

Without Vietnam as a rival, the association expects to see exports rise to 900,000 tonnes per month from 700,000 tonnes. Rice exports totalled 5.98 million tonnes in the first 10 months of this year.

Thailand is the world's top rice exporter, followed by Vietnam. Others export countries include India, Pakistan and the United States.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced on Sunday that his country would temporarily cease exporting rice. The decision was made to ensure Vietnam's food security as it has less than 100,000 tonnes of rice in storage. The country's rice production has been stunted by natural disasters as well as pests and crop viruses.

It is expected that Vietnam will halt rice exports until February or March, said Chookiat.

"The price of Thai rice should still increase by 10 per cent after the price has dropped because the government has announced a lower guarantee price for its pledging programme," he said.

The average price for Thai 5-per-cent white rice is US$305 (Bt11,100) per tonne, while Vietnamese white rice sells for $285 per tonne.

Even if exports exceed 9 million tonnes, the country should not see a shortage because the government has stockpiled 3.1 million tonnes of rice and the harvest that begins this month is expected to produce 25 million tonnes, he said.

Some rice exporters have urged the government to quickly open bidding on its remaining rice stocks to benefit from the current high prices.

As a result, the government is likely to release its rice by the end of this week.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation