Rice Exporting

[LBB]

hi everybody,

been reading through some of the stuff in this forum and it looks like most of you know what you are talking about when it comes to rice.

just wondering if you could provide some info on the ins and outs of exporting rice. my mrs. is from Isan and she is now living in Oz with me and our little daughter. she's thinking of buying the rice that her mother grows as well as from some of the other growers in her village and importing it to Oz.

spent the last couple of days getting information on the internet and it seems like quite a complex process. there are about 7 steps in acquiring a rice trade license. is there an easier way out?

also, is it possible, once she acquires her license to do away with the Nai Na's and Chao Yung's. can she buy the paddy, take it to a small mill, have it polished and baged, transported to the docks and shipped without having to use a Yong?

there must be ways of doing this without all the middlemen.

any information will be much much appreciated.

cheers

[chownah]

I'd suggest you first find out what is the going price for rice shipped to Oz...I think you will find that difference in price from what you can get in your local area and what you can get for rice delivered in Oz will not justify the expenses and effort needed to do the deed....unless you want to become a professional rice broker and handle huge amounts. How many tons of rice do you produce a year?

Also, I don't know what legal hoops you would have to jump through in either country.

Chownah

[LBB]

I'd suggest you first find out what is the going price for rice shipped to Oz...I think you will find that difference in price from what you can get in your local area and what you can get for rice delivered in Oz will not justify the expenses and effort needed to do the deed....unless you want to become a professional rice broker and handle huge amounts. How many tons of rice do you produce a year?

Also, I don't know what legal hoops you would have to jump through in either country.

Chownah

Thanks for getting back to me Chowna. I'm pretty sure the cost of rice grown here is much more expensive because of labour cost. There's a lot of Thai rice imported here so there must be be some profit to be made but you're right...for small quantities it may not be worth it. At this stage I have no idea but I would certainly consider bulk amounts if possible.

Len

[pnustedt]

there must be ways of doing this without all the middlemen.

any information will be much much appreciated.

cheers

The problem would be that the rice is grown by hundreds of thousands of small farmers who sell to the middlemen - either at the paddy or at the mill/depot. The farmers normally looking for the highest price.

You would need to be a large organisation with an extensive logistical network to cut out the middlemen and be cost effective.

[slapout]

Exporters of grains deal with 1000's of tons at a time (shipload), must have a collection system (middlemen) who buy and store, from farmers. Due to transport, milling, treating,license,individual purchasing, etc it takes a large and expensive set up, as well as experience in this field. Do not see how you can cut out the middle man as they handle 4 of the aforementioned duties.

[LBB]

Hi,

You are definately right that it involves a lot of money and know how but I was thinking of the possibilities of doing this in a small scale. Couldn't my wife buy the paddy herself, have it polished at a small mill and arrange the shipping? Surely there must be some money to be made even if she ships 10 tons.

Len

[ozzydom]

LBB, you are wrong about the high labour cost of producing rice in Oz.

The industry is highly mechanised,,seed is sown by aircraft as is fertilizer and weed control and harvesting is by combine. Oz is one of the most cost effective rice growers in the world , it competes well with rice from 3rd world and developing nations.

I once had the pleasure of visiting the rice paddies owned by the late Kerry Packer, it was awesome, each paddy was about 1000 hectare ,laser levelled, automatic computer controlled irrigation etc etc.

Quote

Did you know?

* Up to 40 million people across the globe eat Australian rice every day.

* Our Australian rice is exported to over 70 countries.

* Our Australian rice industry is the first Australian agricultural industry to initiate biodiversity enhancement,greenhouse gas reduction strategies and a project to recover water under the Living Murray Project.

* Our Australian rice growers only grow temperate rice varieties that suit our climate.

* Australia produces over 1 million tonnes annually.

* The Australian rice industry generates more than $500 million from value-added exports annually.

* Australian rice growers are the most efficient and productive in the world.

* Our Australian rice industry contributes to supporting 63 regional towns across the NSW Riverina and Northern Victoria.

[Gary A]

I know it can be done and done by a farang. We have a French guy in Loei named Henri who regularly exports organic rice and honey to the EU. I'm sorry I have no contact information.

[Gary A]

Double post, Ipstar STINKS!

Edited January 14, 2008 by Gary A

[chownah]

Hi,

You are definately right that it involves a lot of money and know how but I was thinking of the possibilities of doing this in a small scale. Couldn't my wife buy the paddy herself, have it polished at a small mill and arrange the shipping? Surely there must be some money to be made even if she ships 10 tons.

Len

Seems simple....go for it!

Chownah

[LBB]

LBB, you are wrong about the high labour cost of producing rice in Oz.

The industry is highly mechanised,,seed is sown by aircraft as is fertilizer and weed control and harvesting is by combine. Oz is one of the most cost effective rice growers in the world , it competes well with rice from 3rd world and developing nations.

I once had the pleasure of visiting the rice paddies owned by the late Kerry Packer, it was awesome, each paddy was about 1000 hectare ,laser levelled, automatic computer controlled irrigation etc etc.

Quote

Did you know?

* Up to 40 million people across the globe eat Australian rice every day.

* Our Australian rice is exported to over 70 countries.

* Our Australian rice industry is the first Australian agricultural industry to initiate biodiversity enhancement,greenhouse gas reduction strategies and a project to recover water under the Living Murray Project.

* Our Australian rice growers only grow temperate rice varieties that suit our climate.

* Australia produces over 1 million tonnes annually.

* The Australian rice industry generates more than $500 million from value-added exports annually.

* Australian rice growers are the most efficient and productive in the world.

* Our Australian rice industry contributes to supporting 63 regional towns across the NSW Riverina and Northern Victoria.

hi,

interesting stuff. I dug up some figures. Australia produces around 1.3 million tons of rice a year. Thailand produced 18.40 million last year. Could explain why there's so much Thai rice on supermarket shelves here. Perhaps it's also to do with the taste and texture of the two different types of rice, Japonica and Indica.

[tim armstrong]

hi everybody,

been reading through some of the stuff in this forum and it looks like most of you know what you are talking about when it comes to rice.

just wondering if you could provide some info on the ins and outs of exporting rice. my mrs. is from Isan and she is now living in Oz with me and our little daughter. she's thinking of buying the rice that her mother grows as well as from some of the other growers in her village and importing it to Oz.

spent the last couple of days getting information on the internet and it seems like quite a complex process. there are about 7 steps in acquiring a rice trade license. is there an easier way out?

also, is it possible, once she acquires her license to do away with the Nai Na's and Chao Yung's. can she buy the paddy, take it to a small mill, have it polished and baged, transported to the docks and shipped without having to use a Yong?

there must be ways of doing this without all the middlemen.

any information will be much much appreciated.

cheers

Hi,

Unless you have found a niche in the rice market by producing some new variety with a different and marketable taste, you're probably going to lose a lot of money and time for no gain. See Ozzydoms' comments about the Oz rice industry. Unless your big and part of the supply and marketing chain, you just won't compete. It's a bit like trying to break into the orchid export industry in LOS if you are a farang - forget it.

Incidentally, Ozzy rice is now so good that it has really got Japanese growers worried, and they used to arguably, produce the best in the world. But probably like you I still believe in the small is beautiful ethos too, but these days you've got to find an angle. Read about the Fiji bottled water story, thats a really good one. Tim

[guyshown]

LBB if you are still wanting to pursue this please pm me

guyshown

[Maizefarmer]

Rice is a commodity traded on international stock/commoditiy markets in quantities of 1000's and 10 of 1000's of tons - and often in advance (futures trading).

Now unless you can set yourself up with the money to back such transactions your only viable way forward would be to trade in small quantities of specialised/niche market varieties of rice (add to that organic rice).

[guyshown]

Maizefarmer

You are very correct i have a little experience with this and the idea of getting rid of the middle man is rather funny. There is always "brokers" it is also a risky business.

pretty easy to lose lots of money..... or gain lots.. I applaud any one who is trying to make a buck

Cheers

guyshown

[Cuban]

Sorryto add my two grains worth, but the killer will be your shipping and handling costs. Even if your family connections at both ends deal with growing & harvest and selling in small amounts to bespoke food sellers simply moving 10 tonnes of anything will cost money if you are not using your own transport.

As you are a small time (one time) shipper, the cargo companies will not be able to discount to you.

With a commodity like rice as others have said to make any money along the chain you need bulk.

To make money with food you need to add value at point of delivery, rice at 20 baht a kilo or deep fried rice cakes with sugar topping sold for 10 Baht each using 1 Baht's worth of rice and 0.5 Baht's of oil/sugar, which makes the most profit? (Excluding cost of distribution again.)

Thinking about shipping weights (own transport to move it at both ends) and adding value with heavy stuff sourced locally - making specialist chilli sauces spings to mind. Dried chillis from Thailand with local sugar and water. Stick a picture of granny on the lable and away you go. Worked for Paul Newman.

[slapout]

In my previous post I noted it would be very hard to get rid of the middle man, others have indicated this also. To export, grains, must meet a mositure content and fumigation guideline, as well as total weight, test weight, % foreign material, cracked grains etc. These guidelines can change from one country to another and normally a shipment is inspected at both ends. If either end deems any one guideline not being met, at the least the price is compromised or it be sent back to the shipper (not prepaid either). I am not trying to rain on a parade, but most packages of special farm items, organic, etc are repackaged by some distributor who has a lot of experienc and contacts in the field. I would be most interested to hear of any individual who has been successful in this type of venture.

[Pierrot]

In my previous post I noted it would be very hard to get rid of the middle man, others have indicated this also. To export, grains, must meet a mositure content and fumigation guideline, as well as total weight, test weight, % foreign material, cracked grains etc. These guidelines can change from one country to another and normally a shipment is inspected at both ends. If either end deems any one guideline not being met, at the least the price is compromised or it be sent back to the shipper (not prepaid either). I am not trying to rain on a parade, but most packages of special farm items, organic, etc are repackaged by some distributor who has a lot of experienc and contacts in the field. I would be most interested to hear of any individual who has been successful in this type of venture.

I'm sure some readers of this forum know some of those distributors. Why not invite them to give their comments and advises on this forum. It would be interesting for those of us who planned to start some farming activities for a leaving, and for the other ones too.

(edited for missing word)

Edited March 5, 2008 by Pierrot