BANGKOK, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's rice export surged 11.9 percent year on year to 5.29 million tons as of Aug. 29 this year, official data showed on Thursday.
The Southeast Asian country exported rice valued at 2.56 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months of 2023, an increase of 20.73 percent from a year earlier, showed data from the Ministry of Commerce.
The increase in Thai rice shipments was attributed to concerns over droughts as a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon and India's rice export ban, which prompted rice-importing countries to buy more to maintain food security, said Ronarong Poolphiphat, director-general of the ministry's Foreign Trade Department.
A stable Thai baht against the U.S. dollar and competitive export prices with those of other exporters like Vietnam and Pakistan also supported the rice export growth, Ronarong told a news conference.
He noted that the commerce ministry maintains its forecast of Thai rice shipments at 8 million tons this year. ■