Thailand introduces new rice types to Singapore

BANGKOK, 16 May 2010 (NNT) – Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai has led Thai rice exporters to Singapore to promote different strains of Thai rice which has been experiencing fierce price competition with neighboring countries.

The minister took a group of Thai rice exporters to Singapore to inspect rice market and discuss with both public and private sectors in Singapore to boost their confidence towards Thai rice quality. New rice strains have also been introduced in this trip.

Ms Pornthiva explained that the introduction of new rice strains would provide more options for importers after the 5% white rice of Thailand has been facing fierce price competition with major rice exporters such as Vietnam.

As elaborated by the minister, Thai rice exports to Singapore have been declining despite the fact that the country imports more than 200,000 tons of rice annually. The minister attributed the decline to strong competitions in both price and quality by rice exporting countries.

Rice exporting countries are also trying to reduce production cost to enhance their competitiveness in the long term, Ms Pornthiva said.