Fine Rice Festival Tops Half a Million Baht, Heads to Chiang Mai in November 2026

The Fine Rice Festival, or KHAOPRANEAT Fair 2026, held its first event from 22 to 25 October 2026 at Parade Square, G Floor, One Bangkok shopping centre, bringing together Thai rice and products from more than 30 farmer groups for consumers to taste, learn about and buy directly from producers. The event's aim was to give farmers the opportunity to showcase the quality, flavour and story behind each rice variety's growing origin, building towards greater marketing opportunities. Over the four days of the event, the festival achieved sales of more than half a million baht.

Tasting and Building on Thai Rice Through Diverse Activities

Within the event, participants were able to sample a range of rice varieties, comparing their aroma and texture while speaking directly with producers about the distinguishing features of rice from each area. The Rice Tasting and Rice Pairing workshops introduced participants to Thai rice through pairings with food, highlighting the different flavours of each variety. The Praneat Stories stage added background on the growing origins and the farmers' knowledge behind the rice on offer.

Meanwhile, the Praneat Studio zone turned Thai rice into bread, fermented seasonings, chocolate, natural yeast and rice tea, showing participants unfamiliar ways to add value to rice. Each producer group used the opportunity to introduce their products to a wider range of consumers, while consumers gained information on quality and origin to inform their purchasing decisions.

Heading to Chiang Mai to Connect Rice Growers with Hotels and Restaurants

Following the positive response to the first event at One Bangkok, the Fine Rice Festival is preparing to hold a Business Connect event at Jing Jai Market, Chiang Mai Province, from 12 to 15 November 2026. This event aims to connect farmer groups with buyers and trade partners among hotels, fine dining restaurants, premium supermarkets, organic product shops and food and health businesses.

This will be followed by a special zone at Thailand Rice Fest 2026 later in the year. All of these activities fall under the Project to Promote and Develop the High-Quality Rice Market to Increase Farmers' Income 2026, which aims to help farmers sell rice at prices that reflect its quality and to expand market channels both domestically and internationally.

This news will be of interest to event organisers in the food and agriculture space looking for festival ideas in Bangkok, hotel and restaurant operators seeking a supply of high-quality rice for their menus, and tourists and the general public interested in tasting and buying a variety of Thai rice directly from growers.