Bangkok, April 16 - Surging global demand caused Thailand to export 66 percent more rice in the first quarter of 2008 from the same period last year, Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan said on Wednesday.
However, he said the world's number-one rice exporter, whose market share is set to rise due to recent export restrictions imposed by Vietnam and India, would not be raising its overall target for the year of nearly 9 million tonnes.
Mingkwan also reaffirmed that there was no need to release rice from a 2.1 million tonne government stockpile, as another 4.2 million tonnes of milled rice from the country's second annual crop was expected to hit the market this month.
"I'm sure that we will have ample supply for domestic consumption and exports so we don't need to release the stock," he told a news conference.
Between January to March 2008, Thailand exported 3.26 million tonnes, up from 1.96 million tonnes a year earlier, following India and Vietnam's decisions to restrict exports to protect domestic supply.
"That makes us feel confident that we could export up to 9 million, as we aimed earlier," he said.
Thailand exported 9.4 million tonnes of rice in 2007 and expects to sell up to 8.75-9.0 million tonnes in 2008.
With the moves by Vietnam and India, Thailand expects to expand its share of the global rice market to 40 percent in 2008, from 31 percent in 2007, Mingkwan said.
Mingkwan said Thailand was looking to work with other rice exporting countries to ensure more price stability, starting with a visit by his Indian counterpart on April 27.
However, traders were sceptical about the success of any talks, given that the "cooperation" has been bandied about as a theme since 2001 without bringing any concrete results.
"In every county, rice is a political commodity that gets leaders into trouble if they make any mistakes. No one wants to take any action that could harm their farmers," said a trader who asked not to be named.