Thailand ’s leading argi-business group, Chareon Pokphand (CP), forecasts that the country is likely to export more than 9 million tonnes of rice this year, surpassing the 8.5 million tonne target set previously.

According to CP’s senior official in charge of international trade, Sumeth Laomoraphorn, his country has exported nearly 5 million tonnes of rice in the last seven months of this year, a significant decline in comparison with the 6.8 million tonne figure recorded in the same period last year.

Despite the decline, the CP official said he still believes that the rice market will remain stable as the demand for top-quality Thai rice remains high.

Sumeth predicted that rice prices could drop by 10-15 percent from now until the beginning of next year./.