The Commerce Minister of Thailand, Phumtham Wechayachai, is continuing his efforts to expand trade and promote Thai goods and services, this time in Hong Kong. Phumtham is leading a ministry team on a visit to Hong Kong to strengthen trade links between Thailand and Hong Kong, with a focus on selling more Thai goods and services in the area, particularly for small and medium-sized firms. The delegation will attend the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market to promote Thailand's Y TV series worldwide. They will also sign a memorandum of understanding to support trade in three areas: trade information exchange, support for SMEs' trade activities, and collaboration in promoting trade through e-commerce systems. Hong Kong is Thailand's third-largest export market for Thai rice, and bilateral commerce between Thailand and Hong Kong in 2023 was valued at $13.7 billion. Thailand had a trade surplus of $8.48 billion with Hong Kong.
Thailand expects rice exports to Hong Kong and China to increase this year, with Hong Kong projected to import roughly 180,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand. Last year, Hong Kong imported 257,200 tonnes of rice, with 57.7% coming from Thailand. The Rice Merchants' Association of Hong Kong confirmed it would continue to import rice from Thailand. The Thai government set a 2024 rice export target of 7.5 million tonnes. [f56eeb9b] [12f3220f] [182e1cd0] [42f5b243]