Thailand has increased its rice export target for this year to 8.5 million metric tons, Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said on Wednesday, as rice prices from competitors like Vietnam increase.
"Vietnamese rice is expensive so countries like the Philippines and Indonesia are increasing orders of Thai rice," he told Reuters.
Thai rice sells for about US$550 to $555 per metric ton, he said, while Vietnamese rice goes for about $630.
Thailand is the world's second-largest rice exporter after India. The government earlier forecast exports of 8 million tones.
The country's rice production this year had seen only a limited impact from the El Nino weather pattern, Chookiwat said. The 2023/24 season was expected to yield 33 to 34 million tonnes, up 2 million tonnes from the same period a year ago.
In the January to September period, Thailand sold at 6.08 million tonnes of rice, up 12% year-on-year. Next year, however, he expected Thai rice exports to decline to 7.5 million tonnes, factoring in the world's top exporter India easing an export ban.