Thailand To Release Stockpiles for Export

Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has announced that it would release part of its 5.9 million MT stockpile for export as growing demand from countries like the Philippines causes prices to climb.

Thailand's Foreign Trade Department expects to ship 1.7 million MT of rice next year to nine countries, including China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, under various state-to-state sales programs.

According to the International Rice Research Institute, IRRI, rice import demand has increased after cyclones damaged an estimated 1.3 million MT of crops in the Philippines, the world’s biggest buyer. A slump in India’s monsoon harvest may turn it into a net importer for the first time in 21 years in 2010.