Thai Foreign Minister Surapong: Iraq suspends Thai rice imports

[Payboy]

Nothing wrong with Thai rice. Those Iraqis just don't know how to cook it.

[Leung Falang]

I would truly like to think this government will go down in flames the next election over the mind boggling stupidity of the rice scam, but I am fairly certain at the next election there will be a new raft of idiotic promises, 500 baht notes will be handed out to the red buffaloes, and we will get another incarnation of a Thaksin run government. For god's sake, will this madness ever end ???????????????????

It will end when another Thai political party follows the lead of the American Democrats which give something or at least promise something to every possible spectrum of the rainbow which then entices most liberals and progressives plus a few regular Democrats and wow, a majority. Only a few voters cast votes based on what is good for the country, but rather for what is "good for me".

Hugo Chavez (now thankfully departed) of Venezuela comes to mind, a place we lived before it totally went bankrupt. When we lived there, the CIA factbook estimated 70% poverty. A friend from there told me this week 80% live at minimum wage with about 30% of the population in true abject poverty.

I have been for change in Thailand but what is going on is crazy. There are no solutions on the horizon either.

[belg]

they can do the magic export thing

they sell to 2nd country, which delcares their cheap thai chemical spread rice to be theirs

and they can sell it to a good price to 3rd country

hope lots of countries will follow iraq

let them feel the actions of their stupidity

on the other side, that rice will become food for local populace

so not good news for expats here

better go eating fries everyday

[Thai at Heart]

What's wrong with this story? Answer: the only source we have for it so far is Thaksin.

Alternative scenario....

1. Iraq casually drops to Thaksin that it's about to double its annual order for Thai rice because it's superb and cheap.

2. Thaksin says, Wait a mo, I can use this.

3.Thaksin spreads his rumour via his cousin or whoever.

4. Iraq puts on a big outraged face, doubles its order, goes ballistic about troublemakers in Thailand who ought to be treated 'the Iraq way.'

5. Reds use this to show, yet again, how mendacious rumours spread by the Yellow faction cause nothing but grief.

6. Thaksin's sympathy quota doubles to match the new Iraqi order. And by sheer coincidence, this all happens while a certain bill is being introduced to parliament.

Fantasy? La-la land? Just remember ... the source so far is Thaksin.

I can spot at least one flaw in that scenario

Regardless - most import countries, if not all, have their own QA inspectors at the ports. It may be random, but if LOS is now exporting inferior quality or contaminated rice, it will be found out

It already has been found out. The Ivory Coast was not amused.

The only way Thailand can export large quantities of rice now is with secret G-to-G deals, some of them barter deals. They cannot drop the price below cost because of WTO rules but they can sell at cost by including under the table compensation.

Thaksin is the right man for those sort of deals.

You think any country will happily sell mouldy rice to it's population?

[jvs]

Eyeswideopen,why would the government care about the farmers?Because that is where they got elected,they will have to think up a new set of promises to fool them again come next election.

[GentlemanJim]

I remember many years ago buying a bag of Hom Mali, it was fantastic. this was the one and only time in all my years here I'd ever actually eaten real Hom Mali, most of the other stuff being sold pales in comparison. And now it's of even more inferior quality?

Just yesterday we had dinner at a Thai friends home. I had to say to her that the rice she served was the best I had ever tasted. She said she had started buying only the best Hom Mali as she's worried by the stories of contamination and inferior quality.

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Good job she didn't say "Oh thanks, it's nice isn't it, but we just buy ********** brand from ******** chain of stores, its only 89 baht a bag, in fact it's just appeared on sale everywhere.

"Mmmmm yes, lovely. May I ask where the bathroom is please"

[hellodolly]

Perhaps Iraq prefers to buy direct-from-the-source, rather than via an intermediary, so is now getting their cheap rice from Cambodia ?

Thailand clearly needs a Gulf-based high-powered intermediary, with good connections and up-to-date market-info, to represent them in their efforts to restore their former level of sales to Iraq, perhaps the FM might know of a suitable person ?

I think even better would be a Thailand based decent government.

[Jay Sata]

It's all going to end up as animal feed and it does not matter how Thailand tries to disguise what is happening the truth will out.

Fire sale is an understatement.

Chok Dee

[bunnydrops]

What's wrong with this story? Answer: the only source we have for it so far is Thaksin.

Alternative scenario....

1. Iraq casually drops to Thaksin that it's about to double its annual order for Thai rice because it's superb and cheap.

2. Thaksin says, Wait a mo, I can use this.

3.Thaksin spreads his rumour via his cousin or whoever.

4. Iraq puts on a big outraged face, doubles its order, goes ballistic about troublemakers in Thailand who ought to be treated 'the Iraq way.'

5. Reds use this to show, yet again, how mendacious rumours spread by the Yellow faction cause nothing but grief.

6. Thaksin's sympathy quota doubles to match the new Iraqi order. And by sheer coincidence, this all happens while a certain bill is being introduced to parliament.

Fantasy? La-la land? Just remember ... the source so far is Thaksin.

I was thinking the same thing. No mention that they were not going to buy rice from Thailand. Only that some rice from East Asia would not meet the new standard. Iraq buys rice Thaksin saves us again.

[apetley]

What's wrong with this story? Answer: the only source we have for it so far is Thaksin.

 

Alternative scenario....

 

1. Iraq casually drops to Thaksin that it's about to double its annual order for Thai rice because it's superb and cheap.

2. Thaksin says, Wait a mo, I can use this.

3.Thaksin spreads his rumour via his cousin or whoever.

4. Iraq puts on a big outraged face, doubles its order, goes ballistic about troublemakers in Thailand who ought to be treated 'the Iraq way.'

5. Reds use this to show, yet again, how mendacious rumours spread by the Yellow faction cause nothing but grief.

6. Thaksin's sympathy quota doubles to match the new Iraqi order. And by sheer coincidence, this all happens while a certain bill is being introduced to parliament.

 

Fantasy? La-la land? Just remember ... the source so far is Thaksin. 

 

I was thinking the same thing. No mention that they were not going to buy rice from Thailand. Only that some rice from East Asia would not meet the new standard. Iraq buys rice Thaksin saves us again.

Very first line of the OP is

"Thai FM: Iraq suspends Thai rice imports."

A three year suspension by Thailands biggest foreign customer, if true, will hit very hard.

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