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April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand, the world's biggest exporter of rice, is unlikely to impose curbs on overseas sales of the cereal as record prices are expected to cut demand for its exports 30 percent by the end of the year, an exporter group said.

``Many buyers of Thai rice say they can't afford it,'' Thai Rice Exporters Association President Chookiat Ophaswongse said in an interview in Bangkok today. ``Prices jump so much and so fast. It is being traded on speculation and news, like a stock.'' Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej later said there was no need to curb exports.

Egypt, the Philippines and other developing nations have been hit by social unrest over food prices, with wheat, corn, soybeans and oil also rising to records this year. A World Food Program official said yesterday the surge in prices may put basic foods beyond the reach of the poorest, raising the risk of a ``silent famine'' in Asia.

``This would indicate that rice prices will cool, given that it alleviates supply concerns internationally,'' Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC Global Research, said by phone from Hong Kong today.

Thai exports of rice are likely to fall to a monthly average of less than 700,000 metric tons through December, Chookiat said.

The price of grade-B white rice, the benchmark export variety, reached a record of $854 a ton on April 9, the most recent date for which prices are available. Prices, which averaged $327.25 a ton in April 2007, have surged as plantings of the staple food for half the world have failed to keep up with demand.

`World's Kitchen'

Supply and demand should determine rice prices, Samak told reporters in Bangkok today.

``Thailand will lose the name of `kitchen of the world','' should rice exports from the country be reduced, Samak said.

Thailand sold 3.26 million tons of rice in the first three months of this year, compared with 1.96 million tons a year earlier, Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan said April 16.

Competing demands from the animal feed, food and biofuels industries have helped to drive corn, wheat and soybeans to all- time highs this year, while stockpiles have dwindled. The U.S. and other nations are encouraging the use of fuels made from crops such as corn, palm oil and soybeans to reduce dependence on petroleum and limit environmental damage.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said April 20 rising food costs may hurt economic growth and threaten political security. The World Bank has forecast that 33 nations from Mexico to Yemen may face social unrest because of higher food and energy costs.

Indonesia, the world's third-largest rice producer, will hold back surplus rice from export this year to bolster domestic stockpiles, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on April 18. China, Egypt, India and Vietnam have also cut rice exports.

``There are other countries like Vietnam that still maintain restrictions,'' HSBC Global Research's Neumann said. The stance from Thai rice exporters will not immediately solve rising prices and shortages, he said. ``It's not the magic bullet.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Rattaphol Onsanit in Bangkok at ronsanit@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 22, 2008 07:43 EDT