BANGKOK, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thailand is expected to export an estimated 11 million tons of rice throughout this year, said a senior government official on Monday.

The 11-million-ton rice for export throughout this year projected by the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Foreign Trade compared to some 9.5 million tons earlier forecast by the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

According to Adul Chotinisakorn, Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade, some 6.7 million tons of the Thai rice has already been exported so far this year.

The Thai rice sales volumes have apparently increased due to rising demands in the world rice market, including Indonesia which has accounted for a 679 percent increase in the purchase orders of the Thai rice, Malaysia which has accounted for a 53 percent increase and the Philippines which has marked a 25 percent increase, Adul said.

During the last seven months, the 6.7-million-ton rice export so far this year has brought 116.28 billion baht (about 3.42 billion U.S. dollars) in sales and accounted for a 9.8 percent increase in sales value, compared to the same period last year, he said.

The Thai rice export for the rest of this year is forecast to remain on an uptrend, according to the department chief.

Meanwhile, Adul said, China is scheduled to negotiate with Thailand for the purchase of one million tons of rice from this country by the end of this month. That is a second batch of one million tons of Thai rice, as much in volume as the first batch, which China has planned to buy.