This dry period affects seed germination and rice grain formation, leading to an overall reduction in rice production. Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said lower production is expected to affect rice exports, particularly for white rice and parboiled rice for which demand from importing nations remains strong. According to Mr Chookiat, India's recent announcement that it will ban the export of non-basmati white rice with immediate effect, resulting in a decrease in the availability of white rice in the market, would impact the global rice industry. Additionally, the current price situation for unmilled rice is high, especially for white rice paddy, which motivates farmers to keep cultivating rice consistently. Meanwhile, global rice consumption is projected to reach 521.3 million tonnes in 2023 and 523.9 million tonnes in 2024, up from 518.6 million tonnes in 2022, with the global rice trade estimated at 55.6 million tonnes in 2023 and 56.3 million tonnes in 2024, compared with 56.1 million tonnes in 2022.

Thaksin's planned return unchangedFormer prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra appears in an episode of the CARE Clubhouse x CARE Talk programme in May 2023. (Screenshot)Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's planned return to his home country remained unchanged, Pheu Thai Party deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai confirmed on Thursday. Mr Phumtham told reporters at the parliament on Thursday, denying rumours of the delayed return of Thaksin, who is widely believed to be Pheu Thai's de facto leader. "Everything remains the same," Mr Phumtham said when asked whether the schedule for Thaksin's return had been postponed. The fugitive former prime minister has been living in self-imposed exile since being overthrown by a military coup on Sept 19, 2006.

(Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)The Pheu Thai Party has postponed its planned announcement about the formation of a government now that the vote for a new prime minister has been put off for at least another two weeks. The news touched off feverish speculation about which parties Pheu Thai would bring into a new coalition, and how cabinet seats would be allocated. In the meantime, Pheu Thai will continue coordinating with other political parties to garner more support. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)In making his party’s dramatic announcement on Wednesday, Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew pointed to Move Forward’s insistence on amending Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese-majeste law. MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon stressed on Wednesday that Pheu Thai had never asked his party to back down on its intention to amend the royal defamation law.

Prince of Songkla University finds 2 new species in custard apple familyNewly-discovered flowers of the Annonaceae family include 'Bunga Seng Betong'. (Photo: Prince of Songkla University)Researchers from Prince of Songkla University (PSU) recently found two new species of the Annonaceae family of flowering plants at the Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary in Betong district of Yala province. The group of researchers have named the two newly-found species "Bunga Seng Betong" and "Bunga Seng Hala," and their respective scientific names are Friesodielsia betongensis Leerat and Friesodielsia chalermgliniana Leerat, he said. The other new species is also a hardwood vine with uniquely wide, oval leaves. The name "chalermgliniana" honours Piya Chalermglin, a botanist from the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research who had led the researchers, Prof Charan said.

(Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)The parliament president has put off the next parliamentary vote for a new prime minister from Friday. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said on Thursday that he had to postpone Friday's vote because the court had yet to rule on Mr Pita's renomination rejection. "The court has yet to rule on the complaints about the prime ministerial vote and a request (by the Ombudsman) to postpone the next vote for prime minister," Mr Wan said. They sought a court order for the parliament to put off its vote for prime minister pending its ruling. In a joint sitting of the House and the Senate on July 13, Mr Pita did not receive a majority vote to become the prime minister.

Former red-shirt leader slams senator Porntip over abstentionKhunying Porntip Rojanasunan said she will not exercise her right as a senator to vote for a prime minister on Friday, drawing the ire of former red-shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn, who said she should just resign her seat. Dr Weng said that rather than abstain, senator Porntip should simply resign from the upper house if she wanted to strip herself of her vote. He made the remarks in this message posted in Thai on his Facebook account:"Dear Khunying Porntip, a senator appointed under the 2017 Constitution. He said, “If there were no appointed senators under the 2017 constitution, the people’s consensus would be sacred, respected and put into force. Khunying Porntip said on Tuesday that she stood firm in her decision not to exercise her power as a senator to vote for a prime minister.

SCB and OR join forces to empower SMEs with nationwide shift to eco-friendly PTT stations through solar rooftop loansSiam Commercial Bank remains committed to promoting sustainability among SME entrepreneurs. The joint effort aims to launch a nationwide campaign encouraging PTT stations to adopt solar energy, generating electricity for station usage. The target is to convert the first 200 PTT stations into green stations with solar rooftop loans by the end of 2023. “To support this initiative, the Bank has introduced the SCB SME Green Finance program, offering solar rooftop loans to PTT station dealers. The first PTT station dealer to use this solar rooftop loan is the PTT Station in Chonburi Province, managed by Lert Prasert Oil Co., Ltd.

Growing opposition to China's plan to strip-mine seabedGreenpeace activists protest against deep-sea mining in Prague, Czech Republic on June 1. Its conclusion was 'not yet': Most delegations said they wouldn't approve any applications until the ISA puts mining regulations in place. The treaty declared the seabed to be the "common heritage" of humankind, with royalties and other benefits from deep-sea mining shared among member nations. (In June, the head of the secretariat's compliance unit joined a Norwegian deep-sea mining company that holds ISA exploration contracts.) "It is imperative to acknowledge its significance, and why a prohibition on deep-sea mining is the only viable solution to safeguard our collective ocean."

Inflation close to zero but policymakers expect a rebound and want to prevent troubleA bank employee gathers Thai baht notes at a Kasikornbank branch in Bangkok on Jan 26, 2023. (Photo: Reuters)The Bank of Thailand raised its key interest rate to a nine-year high on Wednesday, amid concerns about upside risks to prices. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to raise the one-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, as expected by 19 of 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The central bank in May forecast a steady pace of economic expansion at 3.6% this year and 3.8% next year, supported by tourism and private consumption. The political uncertainty has weighed on Thai stocks with foreign investors being net sellers of 120 billion baht worth of shares this year.

(Photo courtesy of Facebook: Moneyexpo)Banks are tightening their loan growth in the second half of this year because of global economic uncertainty and Thailand's uneven recovery. Global economic slowdown would impact Thai exports and the loan growth of the business segment. Therefore, the bank believes it will book positive loan growth throughout the year. On the other hand, Ronadol Numnonda, the Bank of Thailand's deputy governor, said the banking industry's loan growth is expected to continue in the second half of this year, supported by the manufacturing and tourism sectors. As a result, the bank is expected to expand loans at low-edge growth rather than middle growth for the whole of 2023 in accordance with the bank's tightening risk management policy, said chief executive Kris Chantanotoke.

PTTEP first-half profit rises to $1.18bnThe Erawan gas block in the Gulf of Thailand, operated by PTTEP. The company continues to increase gas production to boost domestic gas supply. Production stood at between 250-300 MMSCFD when PTTEP entered the area in April last year, said Montri Rawanchaikul, chief executive of PTTEP. The company faced a two-year delay in its plan to enter the gas block for gas production preparation. If petroleum is discovered there, the company will develop facilities to support petroleum production, said Mr Montri.

Shippers trying to renegotiate contracts as prices surge after Indian export banA farmer winnows rice next to a paddy field outside Hanoi. Exporters are rushing to cover supplies from farmers who have raised prices following a surge in the world market, putting millions of dollars worth of deals at risk. Thailand and Vietnam, the world’s second- and third-largest exporters respectively, are expected to ship more than one million tonnes of rice in August. India is the world’s biggest rice exporter, accounting for around 40% of global supplies. “The current prices are way higher than the contracted prices,” said one trader in Ho Chi Minh City.

"Five major gangs are on our radar," he said, adding they are the Outlaws Motorcycle Club or Outlaws MC, Hells Angels Motorcycle Club or Hells Angels, the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, which is also known as the Bandido Nation, the Mongols Motorcycle Club or the Mongol Brotherhood, and the Vagos Motorcycle Club, which is also known as the Green Nation. "We will eradicate bad guys not only among gangs but also among police officials and agencies involved with foreigners. News of the incident spread like wildfire, scaring many Chinese visitors who decided not to come to the kingdom. For biker gangs, he said the Outlaws gang now has been rooted out from Pattaya. "When police strictly enforce the law, there will be no such crime gangs.

Navy explains damage to HTMS NaresuanThe navy frigate HTMS Naresuan at sea. (Photo supplied/ Wassana Nanuam)The damage to the navy frigate HTMS Naresuan on July 26 occurred when the ship's left gunwale hit a corner of the quay at Map Ta Phut industrial port in Muang district, Rayong province, the Royal Thai Navy spoksman said on Tuesday. The incident occurred while the frigate was taking part in Naval Security Port and Ship Map Ta Phut Exercise 2023, held from July 25-27 at the Map Ta Phut industrial port. HTMS Naresuan is the most capable of the navy’s frigates with a maximum speed of 32 knots from its 44,250-horsepower diesel engines. Earlier reports said the accident occurred on July 26 while HTMS Naresuan was docking and sources estimated the damage at 100 million baht, but gave fewer details.

The party had confirmed in discussions with elected MPs of other parties and appointed senators that they would vote for a prime minister nominated by the Pheu Thai Party if Move Forward was excluded from the new government. Pheu Thai would convene a meeting with MFP and the six other allies on Wednesday. On Thursday Pheu Thai MPs would meet. On Monday Mr Phumtham posted economic policies of Pheu Thai on Twitter. He referred to Pheu Thai as the leader of the expected next government.