World Grain - February 2010 - 21

COUNTRYFOCUS

Focus on
Thailand
Asian nation may export a
record amount of rice in 2010
by Chris Lyddon

MYANMAR

Thailand's grain sector is all about rice, which dominates its
agriculture, its food processing sector and the diet of its people.
Rice is a staple food and a political issue, and rice exports are
vital to Thailand's economy.
The International Grains Council (IGC) has predicted Thailand's 2009-10 rice crop at 19.7 million tonnes, compared with
19.4 million in 2008-09. "Paddy intervention buying by the Thai
government has considerably boosted state reserves, and with this
year's main crop likely to be of a good size, pressure to make
significant stock releases will persist," the IGC said in a recent
edition of its Grain Market Report.
It predicted a rebound in Thailand's export shipments to 10
million tonnes, up from 8.6 million, "assuming supplies are competitively priced." The Thai Rice Exporters Association has 191
members.
Thailand is also a big importer of barley malt. The IGC expects it to buy 250,000 tonnes this year, a decrease of 5,000
from a year ago.
Thailand's livestock industry is a big user of
VIETNAM
LAOS
distillers dried grains. The IGC puts total usage this year at 300,000 tonnes, with imports
of 222,000 recorded in January to September
THAILAND
of 2009 from the U.S. alone.
"Thailand is by far the leading supplier of
KAMPUCHEA
rice to sub-Saharan Africa, chiefly parboiled
and high-quality white varieties such as
benchmark 100% B," the IGC said. Although
there was a decrease in deliveries to the area
of 12% in 2008, reaching a four-year low of
9.1 million tonnes, imports from Thailand increased to 4.6 million tonnes from 3.9 million.
"Sub-Saharan Africa's rice imports appear to have
increased slightly in 2009," the IGC said, forecasting
a total of 9.4 million tonnes. "Official data for Thailand
show that shipments of all semi- and wholly-milled varieties to the region declined during the first nine months of 2009,
but this was mostly offset by larger deliveries of broken grades."
"If the government manages its stocks well, I think we could

Key Facts
Capital: Bangkok
Population: 65,905,410
Religions: Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian
0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census).
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea
and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma.
Government: Constitutional monarchy. Chief of state:
King Phumiphon Adunyadet (since June 9, 1946); Head of
government: Prime Minister Abhisit Wetchachiwa (since
Dec. 17, 2008).
Economy: With a well-developed infrastructure, a
free-enterprise economy and generally pro-investment
policies, Thailand was one of East Asia's best performers
from 2002-04, averaging more than 6% annual real GDP
growth. However, overall economic growth has fallen
sharply - averaging 4.9% from 2005 to 2007 - as
persistent political crisis stalled infrastructure megaprojects, eroded investor and consumer confidence and
damaged the country's international image. The growth
rate fell to 2.6% in 2008. Exports were the key economic
driver as foreign investment and consumer demand
stalled. Export growth from January 2005 to November
2008 averaged 17.5% annually. Business uncertainty
escalated, however, following the September 2006 coup
when the military-installed government imposed capital
controls and considered far-reaching changes to foreign
investment rules and other business legislation. Although
controversial capital controls have since been lifted
and business rules largely remain unchanged, investor
sentiment has not recovered. Moreover, the 2008 global
financial crisis further darkened Thailand's economic
horizon. Continued political uncertainty will hamper
resumption of infrastructure mega-projects.
GDP per capita: $8,400 (2008 est.); inflation: 5.5%
(2008 est.); unemployment 1.4% (2008 est.).
Currency: Thai Baht (THB). 32.9 Bahts equal 1 U.S. dollar
(Jan. 15, 2010).
Exports: $175.3 billion (2008 est.): textiles and footwear,
fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles,
computers and electrical appliances.
Imports: $157.3 billion (2008 est.): capital goods,
intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods,
fuels.
Major crops/agricultural products: Rice, cassava
(tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans.
Agriculture: 11.6% of GDP and 42.6% of the labor force.
Internet: Code. .th; 1.231 million (2009) hosts and 16.1
million (2008) users.
Source: CIA World Factbook

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