Thailand remained the world’s largest rice shipper in term of value as
its exports totaled 4.2 million tonnes worth about 87.2 billion THB (2.9
billion USD).
According to a government source, the country will
sell 1.2 million tonnes of rice from its stockpiles to China under
a contract to be signed shortly. The contract is being drafted after
negotiations in China ’s Heilongjiang province.
It was
reported that about 200,000-300,000 tonnes of the total rice volume will
be shipped to China this year. Thailand has also clinched deals
with many other countries. Next month, the country will start
delivering 250,000 tonnes of rice to Iran.
The Thai
government has been focusing on upgrading the standards of Thai rice,
with a hope that a large volume of Thai rice will be seen in the world
market in the second half of 2013.
Thailand sets a target of exporting 8.5 million tonnes of rice worth 5.7 billion USD this year.-VNA