Despite lower exports by major rice producers such as Vietnam and India, the benefits are unlikely to accrue to Thai exporters, Chookiat said.

In addition, many exporters are having to delay their shipments because of a shortage of freighters, he said.

They also have to pay an extra charge, about 10-15 per cent higher than the normal price, to ensure shipment via containers, he added.

"Rising transportation costs will lower revenues, while the almost 20-per-cent strengthening of the baht since early last year has decreased our export competitiveness," Chookiat said. 

He explained that the freight cost of rice from Bangkok to the Philippines had increased from US$21 (Bt700) to $22 to $33 per tonne, while shipment from Bangkok to Africa rose from $70 to $110 per tonne. Moreover, exporters also have to pay for higher fuel costs, which have risen by $20 to $30 per tonne.

The freighter shortage is due to high demand in China for transporting construction materials in the run-up to the Olympic Games. 

According to a Rice Exporters' Association report, the rice exports reached 2.7 million tonnes in the first four months this year. The market price for 100-per-cent white rice was $259 per tonne, while the price for jasmine rice was $567per tonne.

The export target for the year is 8.7 million tonnes worth $2.6 billion.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Trade Department will travel to Indonesia next Monday to promote Thai rice. The plan aims at ensuring that rice exports under the government-to-government (G-to-G) contract achieves 1 million tonnes. 

Director-general of the department, Apiradi Tantraporn, said the government was confident of being able to reach the target.

Droughts have directly affected world rice cultivation. The demand in rice-importing countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines is expected to be high.

Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter, with an average of more than 7 million tonnes a year, followed by Vietnam.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation