Thailand Faces Its Biggest-Ever Rice Stockpile

[sparebox2]

Look at the good side.

Better to have huge stockpile than Thai people have no rice to eat.

3 cheers for the govt.

A huge stockpile that costs money to store and not sell, and which will eventually translate into higher local prices for Thai consumers. Yay!!!

It cost money, still OK.

But nothing to eat cost LIFE. (Go see North Korea, Ethiopia, etc)

Which would you prefer?

[zappalot]

Even if they give it away to starving people, think of the karma!

How much of ur wealth do u give away (for free) to the poor?

[MikeOboe57]

It cost money, still OK.

But nothing to eat cost LIFE. (Go see North Korea, Ethiopia, etc)

Which would you prefer?

You are missing the point. This is rice that cannot be sold because nobody wants to pay its inflated price. And the hungry North Koreans will only see it if the Thai Government gives it away for free.

Edited February 6, 2012 by MikeOboe57

[sabye]

Here are the world exporters by country and amount

Thailand and Vietnam account for nearly half of global rice exports

Top 10 exporters

Country

Average annual

exports, 2008-10

Top 10 importers

Country

Average annual

exports, 2008-10

Metric tons

Metric tons

Thailand

9,194

Philippines

2,367

Vietnam

5,600

Nigeria

1,833

Pakistan

3,346

European Union

1,418

United States

3,242

Iran

1,390

India

2,569

Saudi Arabia

1,120

China

867

Iraq

1,055

Uruguay

789

Malaysia

1,043

Cambodia

717

Ivory Coast

820

Egypt

642

Bangladesh

769

Burma

631

Senegal

758

Subtotal

27,597

Subtotal

12,573

Total global exports

28,696

Total global imports

28,696

Top 10 share

of total

96.2%

Top 10 share

of total

43.8%

Note: Data current as of October 2010.

[sfbandung]

Even if they give it away to starving people, think of the karma!

How much of ur wealth do u give away (for free) to the poor?

When I have excess food. All of it. But I live in a poor country so it's logistically easy for me to do.

I'm just saying if it might sit there and rot, then give it away.

[Reasonableman]

Look at the good side.

Better to have huge stockpile than Thai people have no rice to eat.

3 cheers for the govt.

A huge stockpile that costs money to store and not sell, and which will eventually translate into higher local prices for Thai consumers. Yay!!!

It cost money, still OK.

But nothing to eat cost LIFE. (Go see North Korea, Ethiopia, etc)

Which would you prefer?

You mean that all Thailand has between outright famine and food security is this pile of rice? Yay again!

Let's hope the farmers still get paid. BTW, where does the money come from to pay for this storage? Do you really mean that Thailand will give our rice away to North Korea, Ethiopia, etc.? That sounds unusually generous... but it could be a first, I guess. No butter, wool, or rice mountains here.

[nong38]

I'm probably over simplifying things.

But aren't there loads of people starving around the world? I've never heard of a global food surplus before.

Even if they give it away to starving people, think of the karma!

Thailand give away to overseas farangs? They only give aid to their neighboring countries and they already have rice.

Probably because they don't know where the other countries are! My wife is quite well educated, not university but all the way through high school and she can read and write Thai and English, but her knowledge of geography is appalling. She only knows where Australia is now because she's been there so often and can watch the map on the screen on the 777.

Totally agree, geography seems to stop at the Thai border, like world history! Thais will argue that they dont need to know these things to survive in Thialand, so they are not taught. I am glad I was, not sure what you get today though. Edited February 6, 2012 by nong38

[Moruya]

The usual Thaksin policy would be to wait until it's rotting and then air-freight it out to the embassies for distribution to the local community as a gift from Thailand, right?

[billd766]

In case anyone did not notice, a large part of the world faces a food shortage. Yes, there are some suppliers in the market that can and will sell for less than Thailand. Let them. Thailand still produces high quality grades of rice that are sought after in the market. These grades fetch the higher prices on the market. Yes, there may be stockpiles of the lower grades. However, its these lower grades that end up in the food aid programs that benefit SE Asia and Africa. They can sit for a bit, because as long as there are starving people, there will be a market, even at the alleged higher prices.

BTW, the PM didn't recently pop into India to practice yoga.

- 2.5 million children in India die every year from malnutrition and related illnesses — that is 25 times the number of people estimated to have died in Somalia due to famine-related causes last year.Rasnah Warah, Daily Nation (Indian Newspaper) Sunday, February 5 2012

To put it into its proper context and I only used Wikipedia the population of Somalia in 2010 was 9,330,872 and in India in 2010 the population was 1,170,938,00.

My calculator gave the rough figure that Indias population is 125 times larger than that of Somalia.

In both countries the main cause of starvation was drought.

[renaissanc]

Financially, this is all adding up to create the perfect storm. Cost after cost after cost hitting the Thai economy.

Commodity wise this could also add up to the perfect storm. If Thailand can't sell the rice, it will run out of storage. If there is no storage the millers can't buy it from the farmers.

And if the farmers can't sell the rice, then it's "goodbye" Thaksin + clone + Red Shirt Federation.

[yumidesign]

In case anyone did not notice, a large part of the world faces a food shortage. Yes, there are some suppliers in the market that can and will sell for less than Thailand. Let them. Thailand still produces high quality grades of rice that are sought after in the market. These grades fetch the higher prices on the market. Yes, there may be stockpiles of the lower grades. However, its these lower grades that end up in the food aid programs that benefit SE Asia and Africa. They can sit for a bit, because as long as there are starving people, there will be a market, even at the alleged higher prices.

BTW, the PM didn't recently pop into India to practice yoga.

- 2.5 million children in India die every year from malnutrition and related illnesses — that is 25 times the number of people estimated to have died in Somalia due to famine-related causes last year.Rasnah Warah, Daily Nation (Indian Newspaper) Sunday, February 5 2012

Nice rant, but India is exporting rice this year. In fact they are one of Thailand's competitors.

and i read somewhere that the india surplus was being sold for export at under 500 US / ton. but as Thailand is not part of the known world i guess its academic to know what competitors are doing

[anterian]

We have had butter mountains, a wine lake, so what shall we call a big pile of rice?

[Reasonableman]

We have had butter mountains, a wine lake, so what shall we call a big pile of rice?

Rice-weevil Heaven?

[sparebox2]

We have had butter mountains, a wine lake, so what shall we call a big pile of rice?

Rice-weevil Heaven?

See, same same Europe and Thailand.

Like Europe, Thailand should store excessive food just incase.

If Europe does that (stockpile butter and wine), Farang are smart.

Why if Thai does the same (stockpile rice), Thai are stupid?

[Moruya]

We have had butter mountains, a wine lake, so what shall we call a big pile of rice?

Rice-weevil Heaven?

See, same same Europe and Thailand.

Like Europe, Thailand should store excessive food just incase.

If Europe does that (stockpile butter and wine), Farang are smart.

Why if Thai does the same (stockpile rice), Thai are stupid?

You are comparing European overproduction with Thai overpricing. That's not the same thing.

[WarpSpeed]

Hmmmm seen to recall several posters lamenting the floods for crop damage while I was lambasted for saying it would produce more crops being so high in nitrates and various human and other sorts of fertilizers. Rice being a frigging a water grown crop the flooding never seemed to be so detrimental to me in that sense and I guess that also proves true once again it's not just the subsidy..

[wxyz]

Got Rice? Maybe rice should be the new Thai currency.

Carry a bag of rice to the bar, have a few drinks, bar fine a girl for short time companionship, could work.

Edited February 6, 2012 by wxyz

[Gary A]

Figures may not lie, but liars figure. The last crisis opinion was that there would be a severe shortage of rice because of the flood losses. Before that, MANY farmers changed from rice to sugar cane production and that also would cause a rice shortage. Now the gloom and doom sayers are saying there is a huge surplus? Which is it? Do the greedy middlemen want to reduce prices to the farmers who barely break even now?

I'd say that there needs to be some serious fact finding studies done. Sugar prices are still high but the prices paid for cut sugar cane out of the fields has fallen from 1,200 baht per ton to 850 baht per ton. It's certainly NOT the farmers who are getting rich.

[anterian]

Hmmmm seen to recall several posters lamenting the floods for crop damage while I was lambasted for saying it would produce more crops being so high in nitrates and various human and other sorts of fertilizers. Rice being a frigging a water grown crop the flooding never seemed to be so detrimental to me in that sense and I guess that also proves true once again it's not just the subsidy..

Whilst plants extract nutrients from the soil they also extract (concentrate) less desirable substances in the soil. Having seen the pollution flowing through my house during the floods I assume this will also be incorporated in plants grown in this water. Are any bio-assays done on these crops?

[retell]

nicecely done buy cheap and sell for roughly 210,000 thb per tonne

get the selling price in half and there is no more poor rice farmer in thailand

amazing

[bigbamboo]

Rice is good news but what we really want , what Thailand really wants is a wine lake, have they learnt nothing from the farangs?

So Thailand will soon have it's own rice mountain.... Doi Khao perhaps? The good news is with their rivals being able to sell their rice abroad at cheaper prices that will mean cheaper rice at home for Thais..... won't it?

[sparebox2]

We have had butter mountains, a wine lake, so what shall we call a big pile of rice?

Rice-weevil Heaven?

See, same same Europe and Thailand.

Like Europe, Thailand should store excessive food just incase.

If Europe does that (stockpile butter and wine), Farang are smart.

Why if Thai does the same (stockpile rice), Thai are stupid?

You are comparing European overproduction with Thai overpricing. That's not the same thing.

No, I am are comparing Thailand overproduction with European overpricing. That's the same thing.

[Payboy]

So this coming flood season rice bags will be cheaper than sand bags?

[bigbamboo]

So this coming flood season rice bags will be cheaper than sand bags?

Only until they are needed!

[Moruya]

No, I am are comparing Thailand overproduction with European overpricing. That's the same thing.

No it isn't when the price has been hiked so high.

[JohnAllan]

The writing was on the wall when the government proposed this scheme. Problem is, of course, the beneficiaries are, for the most part, non-tax payers. But Pheu Thai supporters.

[jimbeam1]

Rice is good news but what we really want , what Thailand really wants is a wine lake, have they learnt nothing from the farangs?

Thailand does infact produce some decent wine. What they don't seem to realise is that they have no need to add an Import duty.

jb1

[Ricardo]

We have had butter mountains, a wine lake, so what shall we call a big pile of rice?

Apart from a potential financial-disaster for the Thai tax-payers ?

So far, I'd have to say that BigBamboo wins, with Doi Khao !

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Take out gun...shoot foot...(several times).

[janverbeem]

Hmmmm seen to recall several posters lamenting the floods for crop damage while I was lambasted for saying it would produce more crops being so high in nitrates and various human and other sorts of fertilizers. Rice being a frigging a water grown crop the flooding never seemed to be so detrimental to me in that sense and I guess that also proves true once again it's not just the subsidy..

So we should say, YAY, for the governments mishandling of the flood situation.