Thailand’s rice exports fall 19 pct in first 9 months amid Mideast tensions
Thailand exported 4.99 million tonnes of rice in the first nine months of 2026, down 19.26% year-on-year, while export value declined 16.84%. Higher prices and increased purchases by the Philippines and Malaysia partly offset weaker Iraqi demand, with the 2027 export target tentatively set at 7 million tonnes.
BANGKOK – Thailand exported 4.99 million tons of rice in the first nine months of 2026, down 19.26 percent from a year earlier, while export value fell 16.84 percent to 2.96 billion U.S. dollars, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.
However, export prices rose. The price of Thai white rice, 5 percent broken, averaged 482 dollars per ton in September, up 28.88 percent compared to a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement.
Permanent Secretary for Commerce Poonpong Naiyanapakorn said after meeting the Thai Rice Exporters Association that shipments to Iraq have fallen sharply since early this year due to tensions in the Middle East. Some rice is reaching Iraq via Trkiye, but volumes are small because of higher freight costs.
Rising purchases by the Philippines and Malaysia have partly offset the loss. Both countries are stocking up against risks arising from the El Nino weather phenomenon and to strengthen food security, he added.
The ministry expects similar challenges in 2027 and may tentatively keep next year’s export target at 7 million tons, pending a review with exporters later this year of the El Nino situation and the Middle East conflict.
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Source : Malaysia Sun
