H.E. Dr. Itti Ditbanjong, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Russian Federation, was paid courtesy call by a delegation from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC), and the representatives from the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, led by Mr. Boonthai Kaewkhuntee, Deputy Manager of the BAAC, on September 5, 2013.

     During the meeting H.E. the Thai Ambassador commended that over the past years Russia has imported rice in relatively constant quantity of around 190,000 - 200,000 tons per year. Nowadays, Russia has begun to develop the cultivation of short grain rice for exportation, of which its mains markets are Egypt, Turkey and other countries of Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Union countries). 

     According to the Russian main importers, there are still business potentials for Thailand to export its long grain rice to the Russian market. Particularly, the import of ‘Thai Hom Mali’ rice to their markets in the sectors of Asian and up market consumers is seen as highly prospective regardless of the significant numbers of 1.3 million Russian tourists that were traveling to Thailand in 2012.

     The export promotion of Thai Rice is considered an important topic organized with the support of the Royal Thai Embassy in Moscow under the main theme of ‘September 2013: Spotlight on Thailand in Russia in Moscow’.