Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand topped the world in terms of rice exports in the first quarter of 2016, the Thai Rice 🎃Exporters’ Association (TREA) announced on A🤪pril 29.
During January-March, the nation shipped 2.85 million tones of rice abroad for 44 billion THB (1.26 billion USD), up 34 percent in volume and 23 percent in value.
Big importers of Thai rice in the period include Indonesia with 317,000 tonnes, Ivory Coast with 272,354 tonnes, Benin 266,246 tonnes, and China 257,708 tonnes.
In March alone, Thailand exported 990,864 tonnes of rice for 15.2 billion THB (440 million USD), up 26 percent in volume and 17 percent in value.
According to the TREA, in the list of the world’s largest rice exporters in the first quarter of this year, Thailand was followed by India with 2.3 million tonnes and Vietnam with 1.4 million tonnes.-VNA
The Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department imported 49,900 tons of rice from Thailand in the first quarter of 2015, a 48.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Thailand’s rice export prospects are brightening with shipments expected at 9.5 – 10 million tonnes next year, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
Thailand has dropped to second place in rice export, losing the top position to India, said Chairman of Thailand Rice Exporters Association Charoen Laothammathat on January 27.
The Thai government will reduce rice-growing zones throughout the country from 61.74 million rai to 55.8 million rai (8.93 million hectares) to balance supply and demand in the next harvest season.
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A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
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ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
Thai rice sacks (Source: AFP/VNA)
