Rice Price Shift If Demand To High

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-- NNT 22/12/09

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Thai rice exporters warned of demand shift if prices were set too high BANGKOK, 21 December 2009 (NNT) – The Thai Rice Exporters Association has been closely monitoring the skyrocketing rice prices in the global market since many of rice producing countries have been facing rice shortages due to natural disasters.

President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, Mr Chookiat Ophaswongse said the association was concerned over the rice prices that reached their peak at 800-1,000 USD per ton. If rice prices continue to increase, the demand would shift to the countries that offer lower prices. All private and public sectors were encouraged to maintain the price and export volume not to be too high.

Thailand's rice export value has been targeted at 8.5-9 million tons in 2009, while 10 million tons are estimated to be sold in 2010. Mr Chookiat, however, said it was more desirable to set export value at 8.5-9 million tons in 2010 and mostly focus on maintaining the rice quality.

A total of 8.14 million tons, worth at 4,731 million USD or 161,934 million THB has been sold based on the annual rice export from 1 January 2009 to 14 December 2009. The number is less than a total of 9.56 million tons of rice exported last year worth 5,912 million USD or 93,952 million THB.