SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : World’s top rice exporter, Thailand said its rice exports from Jan 1 to Oct 26 stood at 7.06 billion tones, down 20.67 per cent year-on-year, worth $4.06 billion, down 25.91 per cent.

In a report issued here Thailand’s Commerce Ministry attributed the declining in rice exports to the global economic crisis but said Thailand is still the world’s largest rice exporter with about 30 per cent market share.

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Under the Asean free trade agreement, from Jan 1, 2010, all import tariffs on rice will be removed, said the Ministry.

Ministry was confident the tax reduction would not have any effect on the domestic rice market as prices of local rice and those in neighboring countries were not much different.

It did not expect rice from nearby countries to flood Thai rice market, as some people fear.