Thai rice exports decreasing due to stiff price competition, association chief warns

By THE NATION

 

Kriangsak Tapananon

 

Thai rice is in trouble, with the price of 5 per cent Broken White Rice and sticky rice being very low, Thai Rice Mills Association president Kriangsak Tapananon said. New jasmine rice in the beginning of the season will be earmarked for export, and the old rice will be consumed in Thailand, he added.

 

“We expect jasmine rice exports to decrease to 1.2 million tonnes, while total exports of all categories of rice will decrease to 8 million tonnes, declining from a normal rate of 9.5 million to 10 million tonnes per year or 10 million to 11 million tonnes during some past years,” he said.

 

Kriangsak pointed out that the proportion of Thai rice on the global market was lower because rice sold by the country’s competitors was cheaper. 

 

“In the highly competitive global market, our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers,” he said.

 

“To tackle this, we need to maybe recheck the whole rice export system,” Kriangsak said. “However, to do this by looking back at the market tendency, quantity, and price direction, the main problem is inevitably the production cost”.

 

Kriangsak said that to deal with the current market situation, the quantity of rice per rai should be increased to meet market demand, while new markets should be found for all kinds of rice.

 

It is also questionable whether the government’s policy of providing support only to the production sector including rice farmers is sufficient enough to help the entire rice trading system. 

 

“Milling entrepreneurs are operating their business in a much weaker state than before,” he said. “They need to be more cautious about the direction they are heading in to maintain their business in this pressured situation,” he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30378087

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-11-05

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

More fake news, but it's OK, TAT can spin it to be correct

 

That's fine, as long as super-rich Thais, i.e. the top 50 families, as well as corporations, e.g. Central (there was a news item about their overseas' acquisitions just today) can buy property or companies at discounted rates abroad, thanks to the highly overvalued Thai baht. - Who ever cared in Thailand about the masses?

5 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

New jasmine rice in the beginning of the season will be earmarked for export, and the old rice will be consumed in Thailand, he added.

So if I want to eat new jasmine rice instead of the old one I have to travel abroad. Strange.

"our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers" should read "due to the strength of the baht our rice is too expensive"

6 minutes ago, petermik said:

"our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers" should read "due to the strength of the baht our rice is too expensive"

Some may say it's called "pricing yourselves out of the market".

59 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

So if I want to eat new jasmine rice instead of the old one I have to travel abroad. Strange.

Why strange, business is business and money is money in Thailand, that's why the locals don't even come into the equation. 

25 minutes ago, petermik said:

"our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers" should read "due to the strength of the baht our rice is too expensive"

Just another weak Thai excuse to cover their collective stupidity. 

If exports are down why increase production and why worry about the mills it's the farmer that has the risks

What ever you do don't mention the HIGH BAHT!

1 hour ago, petermik said:

"our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers" should read "due to the strength of the baht our rice is too expensive"

One day, they might learn that Thailand is not the centre of the universe. A

This will please Yinn who is proud of a strong Baht

What did they expect with the value of the strong Baht.... No surprise. 

11 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Some may say it's called "pricing yourselves out of the market".

Indeed. We can buy rice and seafood elsewhere. You only get to bully us when we are within your borders. And yes, their products are cheaper and at least as good as yours.

We stupid foreigners can live just as easily without you as you can, us.

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

rice sold by the country’s competitors was cheaper. 

It's called business.  It goes for all commodities.  Farangs and their pensions are a commodity and neighbouring countries are bidding Thailand out of the market.

I eat rice to fill me up, can't tell a good from a bad one. My wife finds this impossible to believe as all Thais are rice connoisseurs.

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the quantity of rice per rai should be increased to meet market demand,

You cannot even sell what you have now !, so any increase in production

would go into storage,and we know what happened the last time that occured.

regards Worgeordie

Those Red Bull Ferrari’s? 

13 hours ago, Fred white said:

If exports are down why increase production and why worry about the mills it's the farmer that has the risks

 

Yes and no ; Norman's answer is said in France.
Small farmers do not care;
most grow rice for their personal consumption;
it is only necessary to see the average surface of the exploitations in Issan and on these surfaces they cultivate about 75% of glutinous rice and thus 25% of white rice.
Those who will suffer are the big farmers in central Thailand;
those who make two and sometimes even three crops a year when they are at the edge of a stream or a lake; this at the expense of the richness of the soil but it is not their problem, they have never done agronomic studies and continue to do as their parents and grandparents until the total exhaustion of the soil. 
The wholesalers will buy their rice for a loaf of bread;
they will not go into their expenses;
if you are rich and have time in front of you (the Chinese have both: money and time), there will soon be business in gold on the market;

Does this HOTSHOT think we're all idiots who believe everything. Every sensible human being knows why this decreasing happens. So blame yourself "expert"!

15 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

That's fine, as long as super-rich Thais, i.e. the top 50 families, as well as corporations, e.g. Central (there was a news item about their overseas' acquisitions just today) can buy property or companies at discounted rates abroad, thanks to the highly overvalued Thai baht. - Who ever cared in Thailand about the masses?

Exactly.  Keep the Baht high to keep the price of Bentleys and Lambos low and and get a good exchange rate for buying the overseas bolt holes and vacation apartments in Paris, London , Los Angeles etc for the super rich.  (Woops, I nearly said "Uber" Rich.)  Who cares if the "200B  a day" folk in Udon Thani can't sell their rice?  What difference dos it make to the super rich except it helps to keep Thai farm and fishing wages low for even bigger profits? 

Oh deary me! Poor Thailand!  Saint Petersburg 2017 and Beijing 1947?  Does no one here read history books any more?????  

Do the super rich even care? Rhetorical questions, I guess!!!!!!!!

14 hours ago, petermik said:

"our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers" should read "due to the strength of the baht our rice is too expensive"

Or "being we are greedy trying to charge more"????????????

15 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

So if I want to eat new jasmine rice instead of the old one I have to travel abroad. Strange.

Not really strange, just the way it is, same same but different...to enjoy the best beef Oz has to offer you have to be abroad.

So why did the domestic price of sticky rice go sky high not so long ago? So high that they were smuggling rice into Thailand!

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“In the highly competitive global market, our competitors have chosen to offer lower prices to attract buyers,” he said.

More economic gloom and doom.

I doubt they are offering lower prices at all, rather just another cop out excuse for the high baht. Thailand just can't compete and they know it nor can they admit so they just simplistically blame production costs.

Vietnam and India are eating into Thailand's traditional international markets and Thailand can't do anything about it.

Other far more influential people need a high baht to expand their offshore investments; Central Group for example.  

 

2 hours ago, mikebell said:

It's called business.  It goes for all commodities.  Farangs and their pensions are a commodity and neighbouring countries are bidding Thailand out of the market.

Please give some examples of this. Is there a pensioner visa attraction war going on that I am not aware of? No country wants or needs old poor foreign blokes any more. They are not a commodity in any sense of the word. Even in the home country they are a non productive liability.

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Kriangsak said that to deal with the current market situation, the quantity of rice per rai should be increased to meet market demand, while new markets should be found for all kinds of rice.

But demand is decreasing ?

On my next trip back from America--I'll have to bring back some Uncle Ben's American white rice--since it's apparently cheaper, and fresher.

Your government is helping you, folks.

I take consolation from this article. At least the Asia Region is growing plenty of rice and food as compared to North America which is NO longer.