'Suchart' opens the Thai Rice Networking Forum 2024, revealing that the export trend of Thai rice in 2024 is higher than expected at 8.20 million tons, estimating that the flood will not affect rice exports, while exporters are worried that the strong baht and India will return to export white rice, which will affect Thai rice exports next year. Indian exporters expect that they may return to export white rice in October. Mr. Suchart Chomklin, Deputy Minister of Commerce, presided over the opening of the 'Thai Rice Networking Forum 2024' from September 17-19, 2024 at Centara Grand Hotel at Central World, which is an international rice event organized by Thailand after the COVID-19 outbreak to reaffirm Thailand's potential as a leader in producing quality rice that is ready to export rice and rice products that meet the needs of consumers in all groups and is a part of creating balance amidst the global food security crisis, as well as building confidence among partners and rice trading partners from around the world in the policy of developing Thai rice and rice products, including the policy of promoting Thai premium rice and the Soft Power of Thai food on the world stage. The event featured presentations on the overall rice export situation in 2024, global rice production and trade trends by speakers from major rice exporting countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, and Cambodia, as well as presentations on opportunities and challenges in the global rice industry in 2025 by experts in global rice market analysis. In addition, there were trade negotiations to create opportunities for Thai rice exporters and importers from various countries to meet and negotiate businesses, which would develop into tangible trading, benefiting the entire Thai rice industry, as well as reflecting income and raising rice prices for Thai rice farmers. Mr. Suchart said that Thai rice exports this year are going in a good direction. In the first 7 months of 2024 (January - July), Thailand exported 5.68 million tons of rice, an increase of 21.97 percent from the same period last year, with a value of 132,396 million baht (approximately 3,703 million US dollars), an increase of 50.97 percent from the same period last year. This is a result of rice importers wanting to import rice for consumption and to store as stock for food security. In addition, India is still implementing rice export control measures. Therefore, it is expected that in 2024, Thailand will be able to export rice more than the projected 8.20 million tons. For the current flood situation, it is unlikely to affect Thailand's rice export target because Thailand has exported a large amount of rice in the first 8-9 months of this year. However, it may have some impact on the agricultural sector, which the government has tried to take care of and solve the problem thoroughly. While Mr. Chukiat Opaswong, President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, revealed the direction of Thai rice exports this year, there is a chance that it will reach 9 million tons, but he is still concerned that exports next year will face more obstacles and there is a risk that the export volume will decrease to only 6.5-7.5 million tons because the main factor is the return of white rice exports from India for the first time in 2 years. Recently, Indian exporters announced that the Indian government will soon lift the ban on white rice exports, which will have a significant impact on Thailand because India is the world's number 1 exporter of white rice. Normally, India exports 5 million tons of white rice per year. During the period when India stopped exporting white rice, Thailand benefited by increasing by 2 million tons. However, if India returns, rice exports in this area will disappear, especially the Malaysian market. Importantly, Indian exports will cause world market prices to decrease, which is expected to have a chance to adjust the price of Thai white rice down by 30-50 US dollars/ton. In addition, there is the factor of the baht, which has appreciated very quickly from 36 -34 baht to the US dollar, which has affected Thailand's ability to compete. Every 1 baht to the US dollar makes Thai rice more expensive by 15-30 US dollars/ton, which will make it harder for Thailand to export rice. As for the flood situation, it is believed that it has not affected production yet, but the situation will be assessed again. If there are no more storms or incidents in the next 1-2 months, Thailand's paddy rice production for the whole year will be 32-34 million tons. However, I would like to ask the government to seriously prepare to deal with the problem of Thai rice exports, especially planning, cultivation, production, and finding markets in advance. Otherwise, Thailand may fall in the ranking of rice exporters, which used to be the world's second-largest rice exporter. In addition, the price subsidy policies, such as rice pledging or income insurance, should not be reintroduced. In addition, next year, Thai rice production will increase because this year there is a lot of water in the da m, which should be enough for cultivation, contrary to the global demand for rice, which will decrease, such as Indonesia, which imported 4 million tons less rice. Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Director of the Rice Exporters Association of India, spoke about the case where the Indian government will lift the measure not to export white rice and expects to resume exporting white rice again this October, resulting in an expected export of 41 million tons of rice in India within 2 years, with India being the world's number 1 rice exporter and will maintain this position continuously. Source: Thai News Agency