ANN/THE NATION – Thailand’s rice exports are projected to decline by 33 per cent to two million tonnes in the first quarter of 2025, compared to three million tonnes in the same period last year, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA).
From January 1 to February 24, Thailand exported 1.1 million tonnes of rice, marking a 32 per cent drop from 1.6 million tonnes in the same period last year, TREA President Charoen Laothamatas said.
He attributed the decline to intensified competition, particularly from India, which recently resumed exports after a prolonged ban to boost domestic stocks. The association forecasts total rice exports for 2025 to reach 7.5 million tonnes, down from 9.95 million tonnes last year – the highest level in several years.
“Thai rice is now the most expensive among other competitors, and the fluctuation in exchange rate will only worsen exports,” he said, while calling on the government to use appropriate measures to curb the fluctuations of the baht.
“Furthermore, if the United States (US) decides to raise the tariff on rice imports from Thailand by 10 per cent, our price would go up by USD100 per tonne, making it harder to compete with others,” he said.
Charoen explained that Thai rice was more expensive as Thai farmers incur higher production costs, adding that pricing interference measures would not fix the problem.
“Authorities should focus on improving production efficiency of Thai farmers so they can compete in the long term, particularly by managing production costs and developing strains that yield higher output per rai,” he said.
As of February, the price of five per cent white rice from Thailand in the global market was USD415-USD419 per tonne, versus USD406-USD410 from India, USD393-USD397 from Vietnam, and USD382-USD386 per tonne from Pakistan.
The US Department of Agriculture estimates that India will be the largest rice exporter in 2025 at 22.5 million tonnes, up 26.4 per cent year on year, while Thailand and Vietnam will export 7.5 million tonnes each, down 24.2 per cent and 17 per cent year on year, respectively.
