Thailand reclaims top rice exporter title

BANGKOK - Thailand reclaimed its title as the top rice exporter worldwide after shipping nearly four million tons of rice to the world market in the first five months.

Thai Rice Exporter Association said on Wednesday that the country surpassed India (3.74 million tons) and Vietnam (2.4 million tons) during the same period, local media reported.

With the achievement gained in the first five months, Thailand is expected to regain its crown as world's biggest rice exporter for the whole year of 2014 after losing the title for two consecutive years due to the government's troubled rice-pledging scheme.

As much as nine million tons of Thai rice is forecast to be shipped abroad in 2014, bringing back some 150 billion Thai baht ( 4.75 billion US dollars).

Low rice prices and high demand from China have contributed to the positive trend in Thai rice exports. During the period, Thai rice was sold at an average price of 390 U.S. dollars per ton, while that of India and Vietnam stayed at 420-430 U.S. dollars and 400 U.S. dollars, respectively.