Thai rice: Stringent US checks pose image problem for Thailand

[OzMick]

Nitpicking I know, but I have to wonder how much Thai rice is imported through Chicago.

[frankold]

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.

It's only a matter of time until the EU follows suit.

[manzan]

what a hypocrisy at the FDA, they rubber stamped all those GMO's without testing, and now they are "concerned" about some thai rice fumigation? They truly are just another wing of Monsanto

[Unkomoncents]

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

How do you explain the "misplaced" rice stocks? Monsanto is surely behind Thailand's woes. I suppose that would be because you assume Thais couldn't hatch their own plans? Only an American conspiracy could explain the failure of Thailand's rice interests to procure a satisfactory result?!

[Payboy]

Stringent US checks pose image problem for Thailand

That's no way to treat our rice, say the Thais. We treated theirs so well.

[smedly]

Image problem?

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

if there is a problem with the rice guess were it will end up - the local market

all checked by the Thai FDA and safe .............................

[EyesWideOpen]

Guess this will be a new danger for living in Thailand..... If the government cannot flog off its old moldy rice on the international market, looks like they will be flogging it off on us here in Thailand.... :-( I said a long time ago this rice scam would end in a trail of tears, but even I could not imagine how bad it would get. I think the only way for Thailand to salvage its reputation in the export rice business, would be to admit they made a serious mistake, destroy all the old rice sitting in warehouses, and start fresh.

[Halion]

Image !! what image. For some significant time this country has been under the microscope from foreign goverment departments dealing with the quality of imported foodstuff. It is an international "given" that produce from Thailand needs serious scrutiny. The only image they have is the one the give themselves and like everything else it is inflated beyond cfredibility.

[WhizBang]

The crows are coming home to roost.

As for hurting the image of Thai rice and the country, well, the PTP can take full credit for that.

Well done Yingluck and the shameless one in Dubai. Job well done.

[smedly]

The crows are coming home to roost.

As for hurting the image of Thai rice and the country, well, the PTP can take full credit for that.

Well done Yingluck and the shameless one in Dubai. Job well done.

and the irony is - he can wipe his hands clean of all responsibility - it wasn't me I was in Dubai on the run - poor yingluck the fall guy as her cabinet run with pockets full

[Bluespunk]

How, just how, has it been possible for a government to so spectacularly destroy a leading industry in two very short years. The ineptitude and incompetence of this govts rice policies over this time frame beggers belief. How can anyone have been this stupid? Seriously, how?

[NeverSure]

I'm scratching my head on this one. There is no doubt that the US is upset with Thailand. Part of it has to do with them being so chummy with China. Could part of it be Thailand's refusal to import US pork?

The US is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world, and growing. Link

What the heck would they want with a bunch of moldy fumigated rice, or any rice at all for that matter?

Are they just taking another crack at Thailand? I don't mean to imply that the rice isn't crappy, but could they have known that before they "bought" it?

Hmmm.

[smedly]

How, just how, has it been possible for a government to so spectacularly destroy a leading industry in two very short years. The ineptitude and incompetence of this govts rice policies over this time frame beggers belief. How can anyone have been this stupid? Seriously, how?

the answer is simple - they are not interested in rice - Thailand or the Thai people - they have only one goal - fill their pockets as fast as they can and move over for the next thief

Do you think by now TS has recovered his confiscated stolen money - I'll bet most of it

Thai people "eyes wide shut"

[IMA_FARANG]

Get real Thailand.

There are only two possibilities.

Either the rice is unhealthy or it isn't.

Either way it's not a "image problem".

if the rice is healthy ... no problem, That will be proved to be the case ... no image problem.

If the rice is not healthy ... the problem can be solved (if the Thai government is willing to solve it).

If that happens ... again, no image problem.

Just for once. can the government deal with a real problem realistically with concrete solutions to a real problem or not?

Stop worrying about your "image".

Solve the problem and the "image" will take care of itself.

Cure the real problem and the "image" problem will take care of itself.

Edited June 28, 2013 by IMA_FARANG

[Just1Voice]

Wasn't there a report just a few months back of an African country that had to "dump" something like 20% of the rice they bought from Thailand because it was no good? That was in the news one day, gone the next, because it was an "insignificant country", so no big deal, "mai pen rai" as usual. But now that the U.S. has raised the issue about the quality of rice, it's a big deal, because they DO know how significant this issue could become. And I agree with those who say the EU will soon follow suit. Thailand can kiss their rice industry good bye if that happens. They won't be able to give it away.

[bigbamboo]

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.

As a consumer I wouldn't dare eat it!

Edited June 28, 2013 by bigbamboo

[lovetotravel]

I'm scratching my head on this one. There is no doubt that the US is upset with Thailand. Part of it has to do with them being so chummy with China. Could part of it be Thailand's refusal to import US pork?

The US is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world, and growing. Link

What the heck would they want with a bunch of moldy fumigated rice, or any rice at all for that matter?

Are they just taking another crack at Thailand? I don't mean to imply that the rice isn't crappy, but could they have known that before they "bought" it?

Hmmm.

Hard for the FDA to not know what's going on here. It's been widely reported. The FDA is just doing their job, making sure dodgy products don't get dumped there. Good on them!! Wish we had a good FDA here!!

[lovetotravel]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-18/thailands-farmer-friendly-rice-subsidy-backfires

On April 15 the Ivory Coast’s Commerce Ministry said it had bought “various qualities” of Thai rice at “competitive and stable” prices. Four months after the 38,500 tons arrived, however, the Ivorian government has had to trash 7,600 tons because of quality problems, according to an official at the Commerce Ministry. Eighty percent of the rice still sits in warehouses. The Ivorian government aims to sell it to wholesalers, says the Commerce official, who refuses to be named because he’s not allowed to talk to the press.

The Thais are selling into a soft market. “There is just no demand for this rice,” says Jac Luyendijk, CEO of SAT Swiss Agri-Trading. “You have to dump it.” Swiss Agri-Trading now buys about 30,000 tons of Thai rice, down from about 200,000 tons before 2011.

[NeverSure]

I'm scratching my head on this one. There is no doubt that the US is upset with Thailand. Part of it has to do with them being so chummy with China. Could part of it be Thailand's refusal to import US pork?

The US is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world, and growing. Link

What the heck would they want with a bunch of moldy fumigated rice, or any rice at all for that matter?

Are they just taking another crack at Thailand? I don't mean to imply that the rice isn't crappy, but could they have known that before they "bought" it?

Hmmm.

Hard for the FDA to not know what's going on here. It's been widely reported. The FDA is just doing their job, making sure dodgy products don't get dumped there. Good on them!! Wish we had a good FDA here!!

Agreed, the FDA will inspect it as it comes in, but who bought it and why? The US is a net exporter of rice, not a buyer. The US grows more rice that it can use. Now they do buy some specialty rice, but why would they buy it from Thailand when the rumor is out that Thai rice has problems?

Just my silly brain working overtime.

[lovetotravel]

I'm scratching my head on this one. There is no doubt that the US is upset with Thailand. Part of it has to do with them being so chummy with China. Could part of it be Thailand's refusal to import US pork?

The US is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world, and growing. Link

What the heck would they want with a bunch of moldy fumigated rice, or any rice at all for that matter?

Are they just taking another crack at Thailand? I don't mean to imply that the rice isn't crappy, but could they have known that before they "bought" it?

Hmmm.

Hard for the FDA to not know what's going on here. It's been widely reported. The FDA is just doing their job, making sure dodgy products don't get dumped there. Good on them!! Wish we had a good FDA here!!

Agreed, the FDA will inspect it as it comes in, but who bought it and why? The US is a net exporter of rice, not a buyer. The US grows more rice that it can use. Now they do buy some specialty rice, but why would they buy it from Thailand when the rumor is out that Thai rice has problems?

Just my silly brain working overtime.

When we buy rice in the US, there are quite a few options available, from many different countries. But Jasmine rice from Thailand is always one of the options. And if you go to one of the asian grocery stores, it's normally the #1 stocked rice.

[GAZZPA]

I'm scratching my head on this one. There is no doubt that the US is upset with Thailand. Part of it has to do with them being so chummy with China. Could part of it be Thailand's refusal to import US pork?

The US is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world, and growing. Link

What the heck would they want with a bunch of moldy fumigated rice, or any rice at all for that matter?

Are they just taking another crack at Thailand? I don't mean to imply that the rice isn't crappy, but could they have known that before they "bought" it?

Hmmm.

Hard for the FDA to not know what's going on here. It's been widely reported. The FDA is just doing their job, making sure dodgy products don't get dumped there. Good on them!! Wish we had a good FDA here!!

Agreed, the FDA will inspect it as it comes in, but who bought it and why? The US is a net exporter of rice, not a buyer. The US grows more rice that it can use. Now they do buy some specialty rice, but why would they buy it from Thailand when the rumor is out that Thai rice has problems?

Just my silly brain working overtime.

this is not how the economy works. There will be a buyer for a supermarket chain (doesn't matter who, pick one). He / she is responsible for buying rice, there is no "central" US buying office and no consolidation of US rice. The buyer will simply buy the rice at the best price they can to hit the targets set by their business, where it comes from is irrelevant. Not possible for them to say "why don't we just buy American rice because we grow too much here". The west have been increasing imports for years when we are perfectly capable of making / growing ourselves, why?,,, Money. More margin and cheaper prices for consumers which we all demand,, we are our own worst enemy.

[lovetotravel]

this is not how the economy works. There will be a buyer for a supermarket chain (doesn't matter who, pick one). He / she is responsible for buying rice, there is no "central" US buying office and no consolidation of US rice. The buyer will simply buy the rice at the best price they can to hit the targets set by their business, where it comes from is irrelevant. Not possible for them to say "why don't we just buy American rice because we grow too much here". The west have been increasing imports for years when we are perfectly capable of making / growing ourselves, why?,,, Money. More margin and cheaper prices for consumers which we all demand,, we are our own worst enemy.

Not exactly true. Labeling laws require country of origin to be clearly visible on packaging. All rice I've bought in the US came in bags clearly showing the country of origin. And rice is different. Sometimes we get jasmine rice, sometimes we get japanese, sometimes we get long grain rice from the US, etc. Depends on what meal we are having.

[unanimosity]

Image problem?

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

"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."

No, not exactly. The stringent measure by the US is not what will destroy the image of Thai rice, it is what the stringent measure uncovers that will destroy the image of Thai rice.

[Businessman]

"However, the stringent measure by the US, one of the major rice importers, could destroy the image of Thai rice."

Is not the converse true? If Thai rice passes stringent measures, it could enhance the image of Thai rice.

Thailand should welcome this opportunity for free massive promotion of the quality of Thai rice by the US government.

[tragickingdom]

Inspections of US products would reveal the same. Bleached chicken, Frankenstein agricultural products, Meat products that contain Antibiotics and grow hormones. But than again that is standard practice in the US. They have a lot to hide in the US given the laws that states are passing for people filming on farms.

Don't get fooled by trade blockades disguised as health checks.

[steveromagnino]

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.

Certainly this particular government and its predecessors has a history of misrepresenting the truth, starting with the chicken flu and finishing with rice pledging. However, to claim ALL Thais are unable to look beyond image is simply a racist, broadbrush stroke slur of over 60m people, the majority who you have never met.

[newermonkey]

The red shirts should be out in the streets protesting about this.

[winstonc]

I'm scratching my head on this one. There is no doubt that the US is upset with Thailand. Part of it has to do with them being so chummy with China. Could part of it be Thailand's refusal to import US pork?

The US is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world, and growing. Link

What the heck would they want with a bunch of moldy fumigated rice, or any rice at all for that matter?

Are they just taking another crack at Thailand? I don't mean to imply that the rice isn't crappy, but could they have known that before they "bought" it?

Hmmm.

Hard for the FDA to not know what's going on here. It's been widely reported. The FDA is just doing their job, making sure dodgy products don't get dumped there. Good on them!! Wish we had a good FDA here!!

Agreed, the FDA will inspect it as it comes in, but who bought it and why? The US is a net exporter of rice, not a buyer. The US grows more rice that it can use. Now they do buy some specialty rice, but why would they buy it from Thailand when the rumor is out that Thai rice has problems?

Just my silly brain working overtime.

maybe there just trying to push there new JAZZMAN rice onto the market,,i thought i would throw that one into the chat,,,worth a thought but maybe only briefly,,,i am enjoying this for all the wrong reasons shame really,,

[winstonc]

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.

Certainly this particular government and its predecessors has a history of misrepresenting the truth, starting with the chicken flu and finishing with rice pledging. However, to claim ALL Thais are unable to look beyond image is simply a racist, broadbrush stroke slur of over 60m people, the majority who you have never met.

i beg to differ thais seriously worry about image its the face saving thing,,,,always will be im afraid sad but true,,,,

[Thai at Heart]

"However, the stringent measure by the US, one of the major rice importers, could destroy the image of Thai rice."

Is not the converse true? If Thai rice passes stringent measures, it could enhance the image of Thai rice.

Thailand should welcome this opportunity for free massive promotion of the quality of Thai rice by the US government.

Nice idea. If they really dig into this it could really be a problem. The fact is though it has been accepted for years so it will probably pass.

Unless of course, you open the container and it smells mouldy, which is pretty much an instant give away. Whoever loads this stuff is going to do a lot of sniffing before it goes in the container.