Thailand has set a rice export target for this year of 7.5 million tonnes, slightly lower than the 7.69 million tonnes exported in 2022.
According to Ronnarong Phoolpipat, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, following consultation with the Thai Rice Exporters Association, the department found global demand for Thai rice remains strong this year.
He said the Commerce Ministry plans to continue to promote Thai rice exports through various activities such as the Thailand Rice Convention, an international forum for rice stakeholders throughout the value chain, as well as trade visits with key partners such as Vietnam, Australia, China and Germany.
However, Mr Ronnarong warned of baht volatility, noting the currency's gains may make Thai rice more expensive than the grains of its competitors.
The Foreign Trade Department reported Thailand shipped 7.69 million tonnes of rice last year, outperforming the Commerce Ministry's target of 7.5 million tonnes.
The export volume increased by 22% from 6.3 million tonnes shipped in 2021, while the value in baht terms rose 25.1% to 138 billion baht.
Meanwhile, the export value in US dollar terms rose 14.6% from a year before to $3.97 billion.
Last year, Thailand was ranked the world's second-largest rice exporter after India, which exported 21.9 million tonnes.
Vietnam placed third, with rice exports of 6.31 million tonnes.
Iraq was the largest importer of Thai rice, buying 1.6 million tonnes last year, up 458% from a year before. South Africa came second, importing 775,000 tonnes (down 2.26%), followed by China at 750,000 tonnes (up 18.8%), the US at 650,000 tonnes (up 13.2%) and Benin at 321,000 tonnes (down 15.3%).
In a related development, the Foreign Trade Department reported Thailand exported 11.1 million tonnes of tapioca products last year, worth $4.4 billion, its highest value in 15 years.
Mr Ronnarong said the department and four tapioca-related associations have agreed to set an export target for tapioca products at 9 million tonnes this year as overall tapioca production for the 2022/2023 season is estimated at 31.7 million tonnes.
The projection is a dip from 34.9 million tonnes in an earlier projection because of cassava mosaic disease and floods late last year, he said.
