Farmers harvest rice in a field in Chainat province, Thailand, Aug. 31, 2023. Photo by Reuters
Thailand’s rice exports fell 30% year-on-year to US$3.94 billion in August, marking its 10th straight month of decline.
Export volume dropped 16.9% to 739,497 tonnes that same month, according to the Ministry of Commerce’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office.
Declines were seen in markets such as the U.S., South Africa, Senegal, Iraq and Mozambique. However, shipments to Cameroon, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Canada went up.
Over the first eight months, rice exports totaled over 5 million tonnes, down 24.1% from a year ago.
Domestic rice prices have also decreased. According to the Thai Rice Millers Association, the price of white rice as of Wednesday was THB6,500-6,700 (US$201-208) per tonne, down THB200 from a week earlier.
Meanwhile, the price of jasmine rice remains unchanged at THB15,500-16,000 per tonne.
