Recent figures show that Thailand's rice exports are likely to miss their target in 2009. According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, rice exports dropped by 38% year-on-year in January to about 630,000 tonnes and are expected to drop further in February. This figure is far below the target of an average of 708,333 tonnes per month to achieve an overall 8.5 to 9 million tonnes of exported rice in 2009. The drop was blamed on weak demand and the relatively high price of Thai white rice. The current high prices of Thai white rice are sustained by government intervention in the domestic market.