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Thailand: Rice exports down 21% in January
Thailand continued to lag behind India in terms of rice exports in January due to long holidays during the month. Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said Thai rice shipments totalled 823,401 tonnes worth 12.3 billion baht (US$346 million) in January, down 19.7% by volume and 20.7% by value year-on-year, he said.
When compared to the previous month, they fell 29.7% by volume and 29.3% by value.
“The decline was mainly due to accelerated shipments late last year. Besides, there were long holidays — for the New Year and Lunar New Year — during the month,” he said.
As a result, India continued to be the world’s largest rice exporters in Janaury, having shipped 911,000 tonnes, up 18.9% year-on-year.
“We expect to have shipped 800,000 tonnes in February as white rice was exported to companies in Asia, especially Japan and the Philippines, while rice from previous crops and parboiled rice was sent to African countries and Hhom Mali to regular markets like the US and Hong Kong,” he said.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1208541/rice-exports-down-21-in-january