Bangkok, May 13 - The Thai Roong Ruang Sugar Group, Thailand's second-biggest sugar producer, expects exports to grow 20 percent this year helped by abundant crops, strong demand and an expansion in output, a senior executive said on Tuesday.
"We can produce more sugar this year and we plan to export 20 percent more than last year," the company's Executive Director Utai Asadatorn told Reuters.
Last year, the Thai Roong Ruang Group exported 889,000 tonnes of raw and white sugar. Its traditional customers are in Indonesia, the Middle East, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Europe.
"We got a bigger crop this year. In the meantime, we have already expanded our capacity so we expect better sales this year," Utai said.
Thailand's sugar crop this year is estimated to be around 7.2 million tonnes, up 8.4 percent from 6.7 million tonnes in the previous year, as farmers shift to growing sugar cane for better profit, the Agriculture Ministry's data show.
Utai said the group, which runs 7 sugar factories, had expanded its capacity to 1.28 million tonnes in 2008, up around 5 percent from last year's 1.22 million tonnes.
The company exports around 70 percent of the sugar it produces annually and sells 30 percent domestically, he said.
Overseas demand was expected to remain firm, especially in Indonesia and the Middle East where Utai said Thai Roong Ruang planned to expand its sales gradually.
"We expect Indonesia to further buy raw and white sugar this year while demand for refined sugar in the Middle East should remain strong," he said.
The company shipped around 60,000-80,000 tonnes of raw and white sugar per month to fill orders committed earlier this year, according to data from the Industry Ministry, which oversees the Thai sugar industry.
The company is expected to maintain its strong domestic market share, Utai said, with Thai sugar consumption likely to rise slightly with a growing population and economic growth.
"We enjoy our 20 percent domestic market share and will maintain this scale."