Thailand should see greater opportunities to export rice in the second half of the year as countries that import are rushing to stock up on concerns about drought.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said it is too early to determine whether the El Niño phenomenon or drought would affect the country’s rice production, as it depends on the level of rainfall from July to September.
“Everyone is concerned, as the Meteorological Department predicted rainfall this year would be 5-6% lower than average, which could affect rice production,” said Mr Chookiat.
He said the region that cultivates the most paddy rice for the annual main crop is the Northeast, which is reliant on rainfall for cultivation.
Under normal circumstances, annual main crop paddy rice production is 24 million tonnes, with 8 million tonnes produced during…
