Thai rice: Stringent US checks pose image problem for Thailand

[webfact]

RICE
Stringent US checks pose image problem for Thailand
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation


The Commerce Ministry, in cooperation with the Royal Thai Police, has sent a special taskforce to inspect rice warehouses in Ayutthaya and other provinces after finding rice stocks missing.

BANGKOK: -- A foreign news agency recently reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered stringent inspection of Thai rice imports in every container after a report that Thai rice had been put through fumigation that might harm consumers' health.

A Thai rice exporter said that the US alert is one of the biggest issues for rice trading in the past 20-30 years as it could affect Thai rice export growth and confidence among consumers.

"The US has never inspected Thai rice in every container. Its measure has affected confidence in Thai rice quality. The Thai government needs to clarify these doubts clearly to the public," said the source.

The US FDA has ordered every port such as in New York and Chicago to confine Thai rice for random inspection. If the agency finds Thai rice with problems such as contamination, fungus, mold, or over-fumigation five times, the importer would be ordered to refuse Thai rice from exporters.

The source said that such stringent inspection has created concern among American importers as well as Thai rice exporters. Importers could easily turn to order rice from other rice export countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said that normally there is hardly any contamination found in Thai rice shipments overseas. However, the stringent measure by the US, one of the major rice importers, could destroy the image of Thai rice.

Meanwhile, Thai farmers would continue to suffer from the government's decision to lower the rice pledging price from Bt15,000 per tonne to Bt12,000 per tonne as the National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC) meeting, scheduled to reconsider the matter, would be postponed following the likely change of commerce minister.

Vatchari Vimooktayon, permanent secretary to the ministry, said yesterday that the Cabinet reshuffle, including the commerce minister, who chairs the NRPC board, would delay the NRPC's reconsideration of the pledging price.

The NRPC, chaired by Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, was scheduled to meet today. The meeting has been rescheduled for June 30.

A group of farmers have urgently called on the government to reconsider its decision to lower the pledging price immediately.

As a result, the pledging price would be at Bt12, 000 a tonne. The new pledging price would be effective on June 30.

PM's Office Minister Niwat-Thamrong Bunsongphaisal is likely to replace Boonsong as the new commerce minister. Retired permanent secretary at the Commerce Ministry Yanyong Phuangrach would be deputy commerce minister.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry's special taskforce, with cooperation from the Crime Suppression Division, acting against corruption and misconduct in the public sphere, undertook inspection of 2,000 warehouses nationwide and found rice missing from the government's stocks in many provinces. The provinces where stocks were missing were Chainart, Chiang Rai, Songkhla, and Phetchabun.

Vutthichai Duangratana, the ministry's inspector-general, said that the inspection team found no missing rice in Ayutthaya. However, if the ministry found missing stocks or unscrupulous practice, the ministry would urgently send a team for closer inspection and take the case to the police and the court.

Meanwhile, nationwide inspections have detected no significant irregularities in the stockpile from the rice-pledging scheme, according to the government.

A recent survey by Abac Poll showed that most people believe the rice-pledging scheme is mired in corruption. Even though rice mills and warehouses participating in the pledging scheme knew about the inspections in advance, many clearly could not ensure the right amount of rice.

At some places, the quantity of rice was thousands of tonnes lower than the registered one with their owners claiming that rains had damaged some of their paddies while they were being dried in the open.

The government carried out almost simultaneous inspections at about 2,100 rice mills and warehouses yesterday in the wake of growing public doubts that some entrepreneurs had secretly sold stockpiles or inflated the quantity of rice participating in the rice-pledging scheme.

Natthawut yesterday insisted that the inspections found no signs of corruption or embezzlement. He ruled out the possibility of rice millers using the same rice bulk to show to officials during inspections.

Officials from various agencies as well as police helped with yesterday's inspections.

In Nakhon Sawan, 246 rice mills and warehouses were inspected. Relevant authorities, however, could provide just a little over 150 officials for the inspections and many policemen clearly did not know how to calculate the amount of rice. In the end, they just photographed piles of rice sacks.

In Phetchabun, officials from the Marketing Organisation for Farmers led the inspections at many places. They lodged at least one embezzlement complaint against a rice miller with the Nong Phai Police Station.

According to the complaint, 4,000 tonnes of rice went missing from the Kaset Phon Charoen Rice Mill.


-- The Nation 2013-06-28

[ChrisY1]

What comes around...goes around....gradually the wheels are starting to wobble.......soon they will fall off!

[NongKhaiKid]

Come on TAT get right into this and claim all the problems are simply staged by the government so tourists will flock to the country to see what it's all about.

[Noistar]

Can they really get away with "ruling out" scenarios? On what basis? Probably - "oh, he'd never do that".

This is such a big scam, if they're serious about getting to the problem, they should be ruling things IN. But then again, there's more than a suspicion that any investigation is nothing more than window dressing

[rkidlad]

Those pesky farangs!

[chooka]

Thailand says there is no problem but the customer doesn't believe them. Good on the U.S and other countries for not just accepting Thailand's word.

Thailand is like a used car salesman trying to sell a lemon, give the bomb a bit of a wash and off load it to the 1st fool that comes along. Unfortunately the rest of the world are not exactly the way Thailand thinks they are.

[dru2]

Thailand says there is no problem but the customer doesn't believe them. Good on the U.S and other countries for not just accepting Thailand's word.

Thailand is like a used car salesman trying to sell a lemon, give the bomb a bit of a wash and off load it to the 1st fool that comes along. Unfortunately the rest of the world are not exactly the way Thailand thinks they are.

Fortunately....!

[Thai at Heart]

Image problem?

If they start rejecting rice, it's going to a much bigger problem than image

[gemini81]

This is among the lesser of their image & reputation problems.

[Unkomoncents]

This is so demonstrative of the Thai problem: this isn't an image problem, it's a public health problem. Thais are fundamentally incapable of recognizing any consideration that goes deeper than image. As a result, they have a HUGE image problem. From my end, if I know a product is Thai, I immediately am suspect of its quality and if a Thai person says anything, I automatically assume they are lying. I remember when the Thai government said it was furious with the US for issuing a terror alert to its citizens in Thailand without going through to Thailand first. It said the terror alert would hurt Thailand's image. Two days later, a bomb went off in central Bangkok, wounding the Iranian who had been carrying it. Of course it came out from the US side that they and the Israelis had been warning the Thai government of a terror attack to be perpetrated by Iranians for months before the alert went out to US citizens.

[culicine]

Of course there is no irregularity - scamming is simply the done thing in this country.

Too bad if the US bans the import of rice. Other countries will soon follow their lead. Thais apparently like soft, old rice so leave to local consumers.

[CWMcMurray]

This is an even bigger issue than any corruption that may or may not have occurred...

As by requiring inspections, it not only lowers confidence in Thai rice, but also increases the cost of Thai rice imports

As if goods are slotted for inspection, the US gov charges the importer for this inspection and will also mean that they will face increased costs for storage/demurrage from liners while they are waiting to be inspected

Given the above, it is very likely that US importers will avoid Thai rice and choose rice from other countries...

This is also the kind of thing that can easily spread to EU and other countries...

Next thing you k ow, no one wants to buy Thai rice and Thailand would need to sell at a deep discount on world prices to get rid of the rice stockpiles

Leading to larger losses and the ruin of the reputation of Thai rice that will take many many years (if ever) to repair

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[dru2]

This is an even bigger issue than any corruption that may or may not have occurred...

As by requiring inspections, it not only lowers confidence in Thai rice, but also increases the cost of Thai rice imports

As if goods are slotted for inspection, the US gov charges the importer for this inspection and will also mean that they will face increased costs for storage/demurrage from liners while they are waiting to be inspected

Given the above, it is very likely that US importers will avoid Thai rice and choose rice from other countries...

This is also the kind of thing that can easily spread to EU and other countries...

Next thing you k ow, no one wants to buy Thai rice and Thailand would need to sell at a deep discount on world prices to get rid of the rice stockpiles

Leading to larger losses and the ruin of the reputation of Thai rice that will take many many years (if ever) to repair

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Have to be really careful that those deep discounts don't amount to dumping... The WTO will no doubt be watching very carefully.

[clockman]

The religion of greed, this is what will destroy Thailand!

[joeaverage]

well and truly shot themselves in the foot.

[Noistar]

Image problem?

If they start rejecting rice, it's going to a much bigger problem than image

Lets forget all this practical rubbish which will have a negative impact on the country and people of Thailand.

The priority for this democratic(ally elected) government, is the Reconciliation Bill. All its pre-election bribes have served their purpose, so it's onward and upwards.

[scorecard]

Very recent reports indicated that thousand of storage facilities would be checked to ensure rice

had not disappeared and check various documentation.

Somehow it's all been completed overnight. Just not possible.

Edited June 28, 2013 by scorecard

[Thaddeus]

well and truly shot themselves in the foot.

I think this time they have actually managed a head shot.

[bigbamboo]

Once the image is tainted worldwide Thailand's reputation as the world's biggest and best rice grower will be ruined forever and now I'm afraid it's already beginning.

It's nothing short of 'amazing' that any government can do to it's own country what it's rivals can only ever have dreamed of and those responsible should be seriously held to account.

[petedk]

I predicted that something like this would happen in one of my earlier postings although I mentioned the EU.

I hope for Thailand's sake that they don't find any contaminated rice or mold as this would really hit the Thai rice export market for years to come.

[bobl]

Hmmm... I wonder if this isn't Monsanto trying to get the US to buy rice from friendlier (to Monsanto) nations...

[aTomsLife]

Thailand says there is no problem but the customer doesn't believe them. Good on the U.S and other countries for not just accepting Thailand's word.

Thailand is like a used car salesman trying to sell a lemon, give the bomb a bit of a wash and off load it to the 1st fool that comes along. Unfortunately the rest of the world are not exactly the way Thailand thinks they are.

Very well put. I truly believe the decades of dealing with tourists has warped their view concerning the degree of western gullibility.

[Roadman]

And who could not see this coming from several months out that the big cost for Thailand was not what is being scammed and corrupted within Thailand internally by the Shinawtra incompetence and corruption, but what the cost was going to be on world wide markets. NZ may only be a small player in terms of volume but even here there has been an increase in Cambodian rice appearing in the Auckland Asian markets. And it is not totally price at $10-12 / 50lb bag cheaper for the Cambodian product it is loss of confidence in the quality of Thai new season Jasmine which gave it its premier place in the market.

And as for the brillance of Thaksin as a bussinessman. Case closed. The longer these Shinawatra thevies are dominant in thai politics the further this country is going down the toilet.

[Thai at Heart]

And who could not see this coming from several months out that the big cost for Thailand was not what is being scammed and corrupted within Thailand internally by the Shinawtra incompetence and corruption, but what the cost was going to be on world wide markets. NZ may only be a small player in terms of volume but even here there has been an increase in Cambodian rice appearing in the Auckland Asian markets. And it is not totally price at $10-12 / 50lb bag cheaper for the Cambodian product it is loss of confidence in the quality of Thai new season Jasmine which gave it its premier place in the market.

And as for the brillance of Thaksin as a bussinessman. Case closed. The longer these Shinawatra thevies are dominant in thai politics the further this country is going down the toilet.

Whilst certain types of their rice may be respected for being superior, it is utter arrogance to believe that the western consumer gives a rats ass where Jasmine rice comes from. Completely and utterly naive on Thailands part to believe this nationalistic nonsense that their rice is so superior.

More than anything else, if I was a buyer from overseas and I started to understand that vast quantities have been smuggled into the Thai rice stock, I would believe that this has probably been going on since time immemorial, which then brings into question the entire reputation of the Thai supply chain. They managed to keep it relatively quiet for many years, but now, it is all out there to see.

Why pay a premium for Thai rice, if there is a rick that in any given sack, 5 to 10% is Cambodian? May as well go and buy in Cambodia.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[chooka]

Thailand agencies are always saying that reactions by farangs are bad for Thailand's image/face. Ambassadors speaking out about the scams, International media reporting on murders, riots and other crimes, tourists posting video's online of assaults and other crimes committed against them, all these things are bad for Thailand's image, an image created by outsiders.

Now the U.S wants to inspect Thailand's rice for contamination with good reason and this also is bad for the image of Thailand. If Thailand spent just a fraction of the energy fixing it's internal problems as it does on sprinkling sugar about and pulling the blinds down on external reactions then there would not be an image problem. Instead of trying to shift the image blame fix the problems. Just how hard is that?

If you dress up in a clowns suit and roll up to your job interview and get turned down who's fault is that? Not your potential employer.

[Thai at Heart]

Thailand agencies are always saying that reactions by farangs are bad for Thailand's image/face. Ambassadors speaking out about the scams, International media reporting on murders, riots and other crimes, tourists posting video's online of assaults and other crimes committed against them, all these things are bad for Thailand's image, an image created by outsiders.

Now the U.S wants to inspect Thailand's rice for contamination with good reason and this also is bad for the image of Thailand. If Thailand spent just a fraction of the energy fixing it's internal problems as it does on sprinkling sugar about and pulling the blinds down on external reactions then there would not be an image problem. Instead of trying to shift the image blame fix the problems. Just how hard is that?

If you dress up in a clowns suit and roll up to your job interview and get turned down who's fault is that? Not your potential employer.

They will have to check every bag before it goes into a container to check if it is off nose. Irrespective of whether they find residues, you can await an huge amount of claims for tainted product. The supply chain is broken, and it won't be put back together for quite a long time.

As an importer, i wouldn't dare to buy any of the two year old stock.

[clockman]

Just imagine if these people had control of nuclear power!!!!!!

[Unkomoncents]

Just imagine if these people had control of nuclear power!!!!!!

No kidding...the next thing you know, they'd be trying to sell each other spent fuel rods on the black market and Isaan would glow at night, becoming the only Thai province to be visible from space. They'd probably then want recognition for infrastructure development in Isaan: "need streetlight mai".

Edited June 28, 2013 by Unkomoncents

[Noistar]

So Thailand will produce rice for mainly its own consumption. Not being an economist, does this make the price of rice in Thailand go up or down?

There seem to be enough problems in CM with shops closing, without more money being spent just living.

That's apart from the farmers who will lose their jobs.

Think we need the 90 day magician.

[globin]

Whats the matter Uncle Sam?,.... won't the Thai's farmers buy Monsanto's GMO "trojan horse" rice seeds ?

Edited June 28, 2013 by globin