The Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton is the first thing almost every buyer asks us, and it’s a fair question. We sell Hom Mali by the container from Thailand, so we quote this number every day. This guide explains where the price sits right now, what pushes it up or down, and how to get a firm offer you can actually book.
We’ll be straight with you. There is no single price that holds for a month. But once you understand how it’s built, you’ll know whether an offer is fair, too cheap to trust, or just padded.
Table of Contents
Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton Right Now
Thai Hom Mali has been one of the most expensive white rices in world trade through 2026. The Nation newspaper in Bangkok reported Thai Hom Mali export quotes of around US$1,200 to US$1,250 a ton, while Thai 5% white rice was around US$440 to US$450. That tells you most of what you need to know. Hom Mali costs more than double ordinary white rice.
Those figures are for top grade Hom Mali, FOB Bangkok, in 50kg bags. Your Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton will land above or below that depending on grade, crop year, packing and where it’s going.
If you want to track the market yourself, the Thai Rice Exporters Association publishes weekly reference prices, and the FAO rice price update shows the wider trend. Both are useful. Neither replaces a real quote.
What You Get for the Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton
Before talking numbers, here’s what we’re actually quoting. This is our standard Thai Hom Mali grade:
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Product | Thai Hom Mali rice, 100% Grade A |
| Variety | KDML 105 / RD15 |
| Hom Mali purity | 92% minimum |
| Broken grains | 4.5% maximum |
| Moisture | 14% maximum |
| Chalky kernels | 6% maximum |
| Yellow kernels | 0.2% maximum |
| Admixture | 2% maximum |
| Milling | Double polished, sortexed |
| Crop year | Current season, stated in contract |
| Packing | 50kg PP bags as standard. 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and private label on request |
Full product details are on our Thai Hom Mali rice page. When we give you a Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton, it’s for rice that meets every line of that table.
The Seven Things That Set the Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton
1. The paddy price
Everything starts in the field. Hom Mali is planted once a year in the rainy season and harvested from November to January. If the monsoon is weak or floods hit the northeast, there’s less paddy, and mills pay more for it. That flows straight through to your Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton.
Paddy is roughly 70 to 80 percent of what a ton of milled rice costs us. It’s by far the biggest piece.
2. The baht
We buy paddy in Thai baht and sell rice in US dollars. When the baht gets stronger, each dollar buys less paddy, so our dollar price has to go up. A strong baht has been one of the main reasons Thai rice prices stayed high this year, and The Nation has written about how it has slowed Thai exports.
3. Crop year
New crop Hom Mali smells stronger and costs more. Old crop is cheaper, sometimes by a lot. If one offer is well below the others, the first thing to ask is which crop it’s from.
4. Grade and broken percentage
Tighter broken levels mean more sorting. More sorting means less finished rice from the same paddy, so the price goes up. A premium grade with under 3% broken costs more than our standard 4.5%. A food service grade with more broken costs less.
5. Packing
50kg bags are cheapest per ton. Small 5kg or 1kg retail bags cost more per ton because of the bag itself, the extra labor and the space they take in a container. Private label printing adds a bit on top, mainly on the first order.
6. Shipping term
A price quoted FOB Bangkok covers the rice loaded on the ship. CFR adds sea freight to your port. CIF adds insurance as well. These are standard Incoterms. When you compare two offers, make sure they’re on the same term. A CIF price will always look higher than an FOB price for the same rice.
7. Volume and contract length
One container is priced as a spot deal. Ten containers over six months can be priced better because we can plan paddy buying around it.
A Rough Look Inside One Ton
Buyers sometimes ask us to break the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton into pieces. Numbers move all the time, so treat this as a picture of the shape of it, not a price list.
| Cost item | Share of FOB price, roughly |
|---|---|
| Hom Mali paddy | 70% to 80% |
| Milling, polishing, sorting, grading | 5% to 8% |
| Bags and packing labor | 2% to 5% |
| Inland transport and port handling | 3% to 5% |
| Inspection, fumigation, documents | 1% to 2% |
| Exporter margin | What’s left, usually a thin slice |
That last line is the one people forget. Rice is a volume business. Margins per ton are small, which is why a price that seems much too low usually means something else has been cut, such as purity, crop year, or honesty about the weight.
How Hom Mali Compares With Other Fragrant Rice
Here’s where Thai Hom Mali usually sits against the other rice buyers compare it with. This is a ranking, not a price list, because each one moves on its own.
- Thai Hom Mali (92% purity). Highest price. Strongest name in the market.
- Thai Pathumthani fragrant rice. Thai jasmine type grown more than once a year. Clearly cheaper, lighter aroma. See our Pathumthani wholesale guide.
- Cambodian and Vietnamese jasmine. Often several hundred dollars a ton cheaper than Thai Hom Mali this year.
- Thai white rice 5% broken. Less than half the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton.
If your customers ask for Thai Hom Mali by name, the premium is worth it. If they just want “fragrant rice,” a cheaper option may be the smarter buy. We sell both and will tell you honestly which fits.
FOB, CFR or CIF: What Your Price Includes
It’s worth spelling this out because it trips up a lot of first-time buyers.
FOB (Free On Board). We deliver the rice onto the ship at a Thai port. You pay the sea freight and insurance. Best if you already have a freight forwarder with good rates.
CFR (Cost and Freight). We pay the sea freight to your port. You pay insurance and everything after the ship arrives.
CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight). We pay freight and insurance to your port. The easiest option for a first order.
Freight can add anywhere from a small amount to a large chunk of the delivered Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton, depending on the route and the season. Container rates to West Africa or South America are very different from rates to Hong Kong or Singapore. We’ll quote whichever term you prefer.
What a Real Quote Looks Like
When you ask us for a Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton, you’ll get something like this:
- Product and grade, with the spec sheet attached
- Crop year
- Packing, with bag size and material
- Quantity and number of containers
- Price per metric ton, with the Incoterm and port
- Shipment period
- Payment terms
- How long the price is valid, usually a few days because the market moves
If a quote you’ve received is missing crop year, purity or validity, go back and ask. Those gaps are where problems hide.
Why a Cheap Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton Can Cost More
Buyers often show us offers that are a few hundred dollars under market and ask if we can match them. Usually we can’t, and here’s why.
A low Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton almost always means one of these:
- Low purity. The rice is a blend with much less than 92% Hom Mali.
- Old crop. It’s from one or two seasons back and the aroma has faded.
- Higher broken. The spec is looser than it looks at first glance.
- Short weight. Bags that are 49kg instead of 50kg add up over a container.
- Not real. Some offers are simply scams asking for money up front.
A container that fails at your end costs far more than the savings. Always get a sample, always use an independent surveyor, and never pay the full amount before you see documents.
How Grade and Pack Size Move the Price
To make this easier to picture, here’s how our main options usually compare with each other. We’ve shown them against our standard grade in 50kg bags, which we treat as the base.
| Option | Compared with standard grade in 50kg bags |
|---|---|
| Premium grade, broken under 3%, new crop | Higher |
| Standard grade, 50kg PP bags | Base price |
| Standard grade, 25kg bags | Slightly higher |
| Standard grade, 5kg or 10kg retail bags | Higher, mainly packing cost |
| Standard grade, private label retail bags | Higher on the first order, then close to plain retail bags |
| Food service grade, more broken | Lower |
| Old crop standard grade | Lower, sometimes a lot |
So when two people tell you different figures for the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton, they may both be right. One might be quoting new crop in 5kg bags CIF, the other old crop in 50kg bags FOB. Always line up the details before you compare.
Freight and Landed Cost by Region
Freight has swung a lot over the past few years. We won’t put numbers here because they’d be out of date within a month. What we can say is how the delivered Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton tends to behave by region:
- East and Southeast Asia. Short routes, lots of ships, low freight. Delivered price sits close to FOB.
- Middle East and South Asia. Moderate freight. Demand for fragrant rice rises before Ramadan, and freight can follow.
- Europe. Longer route and more paperwork, including strict residue limits. Freight is a noticeable part of landed cost.
- Africa. Freight varies a lot by port. Some West and East African ports have high local charges on top.
- North and South America. Long routes and higher freight. The US is one of the biggest Hom Mali markets in the world, so ships and services are easy to find.
- Oceania. Mid-length route with strict biosecurity checks. Allow for fumigation and inspection costs.
We check current freight with our forwarders for every CFR or CIF quote, so what you see is what it costs on the day.
Why Thai Hom Mali Holds Its Premium
People ask why buyers keep paying more for Thai Hom Mali when cheaper jasmine is on offer. From what we see, a few reasons:
- Shoppers know the name. In Hong Kong, Singapore, the US and many Asian communities around the world, “Thai Hom Mali” on a bag sells rice.
- The standard protects it. The 92% purity rule and government certification give buyers confidence.
- The taste is consistent. Good Thai Hom Mali cooks the same way year after year.
- Chefs trust it. Thai restaurants abroad often insist on it, because customers can tell.
That brand strength is why the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton stays well above other rice, even in years when the gap gets uncomfortable.
Price Trends Through the Year
Hom Mali prices follow a rough yearly pattern:
- November to January. Harvest arrives. Prices can ease as fresh paddy comes in.
- February to May. New crop rice is in demand. Lots of annual contracts get signed.
- June to October. Paddy stock runs down. Prices often firm up before the next harvest.
Weather, government support programs, the baht and big buyers like China, the US and Hong Kong can all break that pattern. It’s still a useful guide for planning your Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton over a year.
Ways to Get a Better Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton
Some honest ways to lower what you pay, without lowering the quality:
- Book early in the season. New crop contracts signed in the first months after harvest are often better value.
- Commit to volume. A contract for several containers is cheaper per ton than single spot orders.
- Use 50kg bags if you can repack locally. Small retail bags cost more per ton.
- Take the food service grade if broken grains don’t matter to your customers. Same rice, lower price.
- Buy FOB if you have good freight rates.
- Pay by TT against documents once trust is built. LC fees are real money.
What we’d steer you away from: dropping purity or buying old crop to save money. Hom Mali buyers pay for aroma and softness. If those go, so does the reason to buy it.
Payment Terms and How They Affect the Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton
The way you pay can move your Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton a little.
- LC at sight. Safe and common. Bank charges on both sides add a little to the cost.
- TT with deposit. Usually 30% before milling and the rest against a copy of the bill of lading. Simple and cheap.
- CAD. For regular customers we know well.
We don’t ask new buyers to pay everything up front. Anyone who does should be treated with care.
Weight, Bags and Containers
The Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton is always per metric ton, which is 1,000kg. A standard 20 foot container holds about 25 metric tons of bagged rice. So a container of 50kg bags is about 500 bags.
To work out a container cost, multiply the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton by 25. Add freight if you bought FOB. Then add your own import duties, port fees, trucking and storage. That’s your landed cost.
Import duties vary a lot by country, from zero in some places to very high tariffs in others. Check with your customs broker before you work out your selling price.
Other Rice Prices We Can Quote
If you’re comparing Hom Mali with other options, we can quote these at the same time:
- Thai jasmine / Pathumthani rice
- Organic jasmine rice
- White rice 5% broken
- Parboiled rice 5% broken
- Thai glutinous rice
- Thai 100% broken rice
See everything on our products page.
Checking a Quote: A Worked Example
Say you’re in a port city and you want one 20 foot container of standard grade Hom Mali in 25kg bags. You get two offers.
Offer A is quoted CIF your port, current crop, 92% purity, 4.5% broken, surveyor at loading, 30% deposit and the balance against documents.
Offer B is quoted FOB Bangkok and looks cheaper per ton. But it doesn’t mention crop year or purity, and it asks for 100% payment before loading.
To compare the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton fairly, first add freight and insurance to Offer B so both are CIF. Often the gap shrinks a lot right there. Then ask the second seller for crop year, purity and a surveyor. If they can’t give you those, the lower price isn’t really lower. You just don’t know what you’re buying.
We’re happy to go through this kind of comparison with you. Send us any offer you have, and we’ll tell you honestly whether our Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton beats it, matches it, or can’t compete, and why.
Currency and Price Timing
Since Hom Mali is paid for in dollars but paddy is bought in baht, currency moves can change your price between one week and the next. If you pay in euros, pounds, dirhams or another currency, you have two exchange rates in play, not one. Some larger buyers fix their currency with their bank when they confirm an order, so they know exactly what the container will cost them at home. Smaller buyers usually just watch the rate and book when it looks reasonable. Either way, it helps to know that part of any change in the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton has nothing to do with rice at all. Ask us when you are unsure, and we will tell you what is moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Thai Hom Mali so much more expensive than other rice?
It grows once a year, only in certain areas, has lower yields than ordinary rice, and has a strong name that buyers pay for. The Thai purity standard also means it can’t simply be blended down.
Is the Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton the same for every bag size?
No. Smaller bags cost more per ton because of packing materials and labor.
How long is your price valid?
Usually a few working days. The baht and paddy price move often, so we can’t hold a price for long without a signed contract.
Can you fix a price for a year?
We can fix prices for a set number of containers over a set period, usually a few months. A full year is harder because the harvest in between can change everything.
Do you quote CIF to any port?
Yes. Tell us the port and we’ll get current freight.
More in our FAQ. You can also read about us and how we handle quality control.
Staying Up to Date on Prices
If you buy regularly, ask us to keep you posted. We can send a short note when something at the mills changes: a jump in paddy prices, a move in the baht, a problem with the weather, or a good window to book. Not a newsletter full of fluff. Just a few lines when there’s something worth knowing.
Regular buyers can use that to time their orders. Book a little earlier when a rise is coming. Wait when prices look set to soften after harvest. Either way, you make the call with better information, and your average Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton over the year ends up lower.
More Guides on Thai Hom Mali Rice
- Choosing a Thai Hom Mali rice supplier
- Thai Hom Mali rice wholesale guide
- Working with a Thai Hom Mali rice exporter
- Hom Mali 105 rice (KDML 105)
Get Today’s Thai Hom Mali Rice Price Per Ton
Send us your quantity, bag size, destination port and preferred shipping term. We’ll reply with a firm Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton, the spec sheet and the shipment date, usually on the same day.
Email info@dethairice.com or WhatsApp +66 81 034 6390, or use our contact page.
We ship worldwide. A sample is a good place to start.
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