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Thai rice exports to drop 10 pct on India, Vietnam competition
Rice exports from Thailand, the world’s biggest shipper, may decline 10 percent this year on competition from India and Vietnam even as the value of the shipments gains, according to the Foreign Trade Department.
Shipments may total 9.5 million metric tons in the calendar year compared with a record 10.6 million tons in 2011, the department said in a statement on January 31. The value may climb 11 percent to $7 billion, according to the statement.
Global rice output may rise 2.5 percent to a record 461.4 million tons in 2011-2012 as import demand drops 8.7 percent to 29.7 million tons, according to the US Department of Agriculture. That’ll increase ending stockpiles to 100.1 million tons, the most since the season ended 2003, USDA data shows.
The increased global output, together with high inventories and India’s plans to continue exports, will pressure prices, the Thai department said. Buyers for Thai supplies may return from the third quarter as adverse weather tightens supply, it said.
The USDA on January 12 cut its forecast for Thai shipments this year to 7 million tons from a forecast in December of 8 million tons.
thanhniennews
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