Commerce Min keeps watch on situations in Dubai, Vietnam.
The permanent secretary for commerce affirms devaluation of the Vietnamese currency will not hurt Thai rice export as Vietnam's output scale is not as large as Thailand's.
He also pledges to keep a close watch on the Dubai World crisis fallout.
Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Puangrach admitted the debt crisis facing Dubai World must be kept under a close watch for its effects on Thailand's economic situation.
Yanyong noted the Dubai World fallout will have a slight impact on the export sector.
He expected oil price could slide down over possible increase in Dubai's oil output
He also said the devaluation of the Vietnamese currency may draw investments from Thailand and have negative impact on several export businesses, such as clothing, apparel, footwear and computers.
Yanyong, however, believes the Vietnamese dong's devaluation will post no big threat to Thailand's rice export as the supply from Vietnam is still not sufficient to compete with Thailand's.
Meanwhile, Kasikorn Research Center forecasts the country's rice export in 2010 will enjoy a significant growth as world rice output would decline due to climate change while India and the Philippines need to import more rice as they are still reeling under the effects of recent natural disasters.
The center expects the quantity of the 2010's rice export can reach as high as 10 million tons, a level achieved in 2008, or more.
However, the forecast is made on the assumption that the government and exporters can successfully penetrate into new markets.
In addition, the world price of rice is also expected to increase in line with global economic conditions.
