BANGKOK: Thailand is mired in triple trouble gravely affecting its rice exports: decreased production because of droughts, exports at 23-year lows due to the high baht, and higher shipping charges.
Amid emerging expectations that rice exports from Thailand, once the world’s biggest exporter, will further drop this year, the government is stepping up efforts to regain that position by lowering export surcharges and improving rice breeds.
At a cabinet meeting in April, the government affirmed a plan to lower surcharges it collects from exporters for rice exports to the European Union and Britain from 2,500 baht (US$80.51) per ton to 1,200 to 1,500 baht.
The government decided to prop up rice exports after they shrank 25% in 2020 from the previous year to 5.7 million tons, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The volume of exports was the…
