Bangkok (VNA)– Thailand has exported 2.2 million tones of rice with a value of 1.38 billionUSD in the first six months of this year, the Nation newspaper reported.

It represented a reduction of 21.03 percent involume and 28.14 in value compared with the same period last year, 

President of the Thai Rice ExportersAssociation (TREA) Charoen Laothamatas predicted that Thailand's total riceexport volume this year would reach 5.7 million tonnes, lower than the target of 6 million tonnes.

TheTREA president said Thai rice prices are higher than many of its competitorsand that affects sale. He attributed it to the baht's appreciation anddrought.

Thailand'sMinistry of Commerce has collaborated with TREA to promote the export of the country'smain types of rice, aiming for a 4.8 percent growth in jasmine riceexports to high-end markets; 5.2 percent growth in fragrant rice sales; a 4.7percent increase in white rice exports to general markets and 4.9 percentexpansion of parboiled rice. The exports of sticky rice, brown rice and milledrice to specialised markets will be expanded by 3.6 percent, 12.5 percent and12.5 percent, respectively.

Theministry would work to expand the government-to-government (G2G) rice trading markets. Recently, Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit said that the Departmentof Foreign Trade had negotiated to export an additional 20,000 tonnes ofwhite rice exports to China under the contract to buy 1 million tons of G2G rice.

The departmentalso plans to negotiate the G2G sale of rice under the MoUs that Thailand had signed with Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Last year, Thailand shipped 5.7 million tonnes abroad./.