The Department of Foreign Trade supports Thai rice exporters to penetrate the Hong Kong rice market, aiming to stimulate Thai rice exports to Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year festival in 2026.
Mrs. Arada Fuengthong, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, revealed that from 18 to 20 January 2026, she led a delegation including executives from the Export–Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank), headed by the bank's Managing Director (Mr. Chalatch Rattanaboonnithi), and representatives from the Thai Rice Exporters Association, led by the association’s president (Police Lieutenant Colonel Charoen Laothammat), and its honorary president (Mr. Chukiatti Opasawong), along with exporters from eight Thai rice companies, on a visit to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China. Hong Kong is an important export market for Thai rice, especially Thai jasmine rice. The delegation met with government and private sector officials in Hong Kong who play key roles in rice trade between Thailand and Hong Kong, to discuss and strengthen trade relations, as well as to maintain and expand the Thai rice export market in Hong Kong.
The department met with the Director-General of Hong Kong's Trade and Industry Department (TID), the government agency overseeing import-export operations, to discuss cooperation in various areas such as trade amid global volatility, rice stockpiling for emergencies, electronic certificates of origin, and potential free trade agreements in bilateral and multilateral frameworks. Mr. Aaron Liu, Director-General of the Trade and Industry Department of Hong Kong, confirmed that Thai rice has held the number one market share in Hong Kong’s rice market for over 30 years. The strong relationship between Hong Kong rice importers and Thai rice exporters has facilitated smooth Thai rice imports into Hong Kong. The Trade and Industry Department of Hong Kong is ready to collaborate with Thailand’s Department of Foreign Trade to further strengthen trade between Hong Kong and Thailand.
Additionally, the department led the delegation to visit the rice warehouse of China Merchants Godown, Wharf & Transportation Limited, the largest rice storage facility in Hong Kong. This warehouse holds about 50 percent of Hong Kong’s total rice stock. The storage facility controls temperature and humidity to maintain rice quality before it reaches consumers. The delegation also met with the Hong Kong Rice Importers Association to exchange views on the rice trade situation. This association has been a longstanding trading partner and plays a crucial role in importing Thai rice and helping Thai rice maintain its number one market share in Hong Kong to this day.
The Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade added that Thailand exports approximately 160,000 to 170,000 tons of rice annually to Hong Kong, while Hong Kong imports about 280,000 to 310,000 tons of rice each year. Thailand has long held over 50 percent of the rice market share in Hong Kong. Most Thai rice exported to Hong Kong is jasmine rice (77.44 percent) and fragrant rice (14.31 percent). This recent visit confirmed that Thai rice is highly favored and in strong demand in the Hong Kong market. Therefore, it is confident that Thailand will continue to maintain its rice market share in Hong Kong and retain the loyalty of consumers and importers there for a long time.
/ State Policy /