Rice exports are expected to drop by almost a half from the monthly average of 1 million tonnes to only 550,000 tonnes this month because of the floods.

Chookiat Ophaswonge, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the export volume would drop gradually, and some importers had shifted to other rice-exporting countries as some rice warehouses here have been damaged.

"Rice orders have gone to India, Vietnam and Pakistan as some Thai exporters have faced difficulty moving rice from warehouses to the port," Chookiat said. Some Thai exporters have temporarily suspended order-taking as they have low confidence of being able to deliver to buyers in time.

At the same time, the higher price of Thai rice due to the pledging scheme has encouraged some buyers to order rice from rival countries.

Currently, Thai 5-per-cent white rice is quoted at US$600 a tonne, while Indian rice is $480-$500 and Vietnam's is $570.

Earlier, rice export volume was projected at 600,000-650,000 tonnes this month. But difficulties in some ports and with road transport, particularly in Ayutthaya where many rice exporters' warehouses and millers are located, have delayed shipping.

"Export volume is expected at 550,000 tonnes this month, while many exporters have asked for postponement of shipments," Chookiat said.

Rice exports reached 9.02 million tonnes in the first nine months, an increase of 47.2 per cent compared with the same period last year. But in September, export volume was down by 1.22 per cent to 829,134 tonnes.

He said exporters' stockpiles had not yet been damaged by flooding. However, if flood water flows into Pathum Thani and nearby areas in Bangkok where there are many warehouses, rice trading could be hit hard.

Charnchai Ratthananon, president of the Thai Rice Millers Association, said about 130 rice warehouses in Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan were damaged by flooding, causing a delay in starting the pledging project.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol reported to the Cabinet that only 10,000 tonnes of rice had entered the government's stockpiles since the pledging project started last Friday.

The National Rice Policy Committee yesterday approved 100,000 tonnes of 5-per-cent white rice from the government's stockpiles to sell at the market price to increase domestic supplies during the flood crisis.

Poom said the government would closely monitor the rice-trading situation before selling cheap rice in the domestic market.

He said the government did not want to destroy the market mechanism, and rice trading was still going well. The government will only distribute cheap rice in cases of shortage or rocketing prices in the future.

Source: The Nation