Shelves at a Tesco Lotus store are left empty as consumers stock up on basic consumer goods and rice amid fears over the spread of the coronavirus early this month.(Photo: bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s ricepackers warn that packaged rice prices are likely to increase further afterdomestic rice prices rose by 20-30 percent since the start of the year, mostlydue to drought and a sharp rise in demand amid of COVID-19 outbreak.
Somkiat Makayatorn, Honorary President of the ThaiRice Packers Association (TRPA), said the price of milled rice in the country,which is used as a raw material in packaged rice production, has risen to 15THB per kilogramme from 12.50 THB in early January.
The prices of milled rice are expected tocontinue increasing until August or September before the release of the newharvest into the market, Somkiat said.
He said the worst drought in 40 years isresponsible for farmers reporting a decrease of 1.5-2 million tonnes of milledoff-season rice this year.
Somkiat said local prices of packaged rice havebeen capped since last year, with a 5kg package averaging 70-120 THB per packfor white rice and 160-250 THB per pack for hom malirice.
Regarding consumers hoarding packaged rice, heinsisted that Thailand will never face a rice shortage.
He said that despite the short- term demandsurge, domestic rice consumption is expected to drop this year as foreigntourists veer away from Thailand.
Last year domestic rice consumption totalled7.5 million tonnes, up 8 percent from the previous year, while Thailand'spackaged rice market was worth 30 billion THB, a gain of 8-9 percent.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, Honorary President of theThai Rice Exporters Association (TREA), said there are several foreign purchaseorders, particularly for premium rice such as hom mali, from Hong Kong (China),Singapore, the US and Canada, as consumers worldwide have rushed to buy milledrice and dried food as the pandemic inspires panic hoarding.
Rice prices are expected to rise until themiddle of the year as global consumers beef up their stockpiles, with Chinaunlikely to rev up rice exports in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, Chookiatsaid.
Thailand is targeting to export 7.5 milliontonnes of rice worth 4.2 billion USD in 2020./.
VNA
