Thailand will export 500,000 metric tons of rice to its neighbor Malaysia to help relieve imminent domestic shortage in the country, a Thai government spokesman said Thursday.
Of the total, Thailand will export about 100,000 metric tons of rice within the next three days and the rest at a later date. The sales price will be based on the market price, spokesman Vichienchot Sukchokrat said.
The agreement of the emergency sale to Malaysia came after Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Mustapa Mohamed met with Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Commerce and Deputy Prime Minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan early Thursday and informed them that Malaysia now had rice enough for domestic consumption only 15 days and was desperate for the staple, according to Thai News Agency.
Considering that Malaysia is Thailand's close neighbor, Samak agreed to send rice to that country immediately, the spokesman added.
Thailand 's rice exports in the first four months this year jumped 74 percent year on year to 4.07 million metric tons, according to Thailand's Foreign Trade Department, while the value totaled 1.91 billion dollars, up 61 percent year on year. The world's NO. 1 rice exporter has targeted a nine-million-ton export volume for this year.
Source: Xinhua
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