Rice prices dropped to 8,000 - 8,200 baht per ton

[aechzen]

who control the rice market ?

[Ricardo]

The world over it is the farmers who take the risk and get shafted by the bulk selling middle people.

"get shafted by the bulk selling middle people, "

Or the PTP-led caretaker-government, as they're currently known, hope the farmers remember how Thaksin's people treated them !

[ggt]

This rice has been tainted by the blood of farmers...it should sell for a premium above the going rate...not reduced by 50%...the inept Thai gov't...should make up the difference for their lack of attention to this debacle in a timely manner...

Edited March 8, 2014 by metisdead
Oversize font reset to normal.

[harryfrompattaya]

This rice has been tainted by the blood of farmers...it should sell for a premium above the going rate...not reduced by 50%...the inept Thai gov't...should make up the difference for their lack of attention to this debacle in a timely manner...

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

[tullynagardy]

The world over it is the farmers who take the risk and get shafted by the bulk selling middle people.

Not under Abhisit's rice mortgage scheme it wasn't!!!!!

Nonsense. If anything it was more prone to millers robbing the ordinary farmers.

Under the previous insurance scheme of of Abhisit , farmers sold to millers and were reimbursed for the difference if the rice was bought below 11,000 baht. With the PTP rice mortgage scheme, farmers will sell rice directly to the government for 15,000 baht.

By all means complain and mock this joke of a policy that is literally ruining the economy, but don`t let your yellow specks convince you the Dem version was corruption free or ideal. The only reason it was slightly more sustainable was because it didnt pay them as much.

Still find this forum amazing in the way so many guys mock a corrupt and inefficient government and crave an equally corrupt and inefficient one to return in its place. The fact they are both useless is beyond their comprehension.

[darren84310]

And on top of that, with every crop the mill owners steal 40% of the rice the farmers try to sell by saying it's not good quality rice, it's too humid, it's underweight and any other lies that they can, so after all the middlemen take their cut the farmer who has slogged hard to make this rice gets a tiny cut of the profit for his product. It's all disgusting but for some reason accepted here by the farmers because they have no option.

Far be it from me to defend mill owners, but to be fair the paddy offered by farmers will indeed have a certain humidity level, need to be dried, cleaned, etc. That's why the price given by mill owners would always be lower than the price demanded by them for a finished products.

The question here would seem "what prices are the millers quoting for "grain with 15% moisture content" and how much of the price difference can be seen as 'reasonable' and how much as unreasonable?

Of course there has to be some quality control but when you take 5 tonnes of rice and go to get paid only to be told that we are deducting 2 tonnes of your rice but given no proof or reasoning then on top of that the 0 rice offered is also 20% below Yingluck's "price promise" it seems very obvious that the mill owners are totally scamming my partner's family. And you have no choice but to suffer because now you cannot ask for all of your rice back so there is no choice but to be shafted and be at the mercy of the corrupt system.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

And does your partner's family still believe in the Shinawatras and/or PTP?

[KunMatt]

They never did. Not all of Isaan are red shirts but I guess they are all at the mercy of him.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[darren84310]

And on top of that, with every crop the mill owners steal 40% of the rice the farmers try to sell by saying it's not good quality rice, it's too humid, it's underweight and any other lies that they can, so after all the middlemen take their cut the farmer who has slogged hard to make this rice gets a tiny cut of the profit for his product. It's all disgusting but for some reason accepted here by the farmers because they have no option.

Far be it from me to defend mill owners, but to be fair the paddy offered by farmers will indeed have a certain humidity level, need to be dried, cleaned, etc. That's why the price given by mill owners would always be lower than the price demanded by them for a finished products.

The question here would seem "what prices are the millers quoting for "grain with 15% moisture content" and how much of the price difference can be seen as 'reasonable' and how much as unreasonable?

Of course there has to be some quality control but when you take 5 tonnes of rice and go to get paid only to be told that we are deducting 2 tonnes of your rice but given no proof or reasoning then on top of that the 0 rice offered is also 20% below Yingluck's "price promise" it seems very obvious that the mill owners are totally scamming my partner's family. And you have no choice but to suffer because now you cannot ask for all of your rice back so there is no choice but to be shafted and be at the mercy of the corrupt system.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

And does your partner's family still believe in the Shinawatras and/or PTP?

Sorry, I'm also dying to know if they were aware that Thaksin was given 30 billion baht by the government last October?... PM me if you can, I'd really like to know.

[darren84310]

They never did. Not all of Isaan are red shirts but I guess they are all at the mercy of him.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good to hear that they are not stupid, I hope they manage to sort things out.

[soalbundy]

great ! no way am i paying to plant another 200 Rai, they can stuff it,

[naboo]

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

Certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages.

But you're suggesting people produce less of the staple of all those areas in order to make it more financially viable.

Perhaps there's an alternative way forward.

[Thai at Heart]

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

Certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages.

But you're suggesting people produce less of the staple of all those areas in order to make it more financially viable.

Perhaps there's an alternative way forward.

95% of the worlds rice is consumed in country. Exported rice comes from 4 or 5 countries and is a tiny volume versus the total.

Starving countries are not importing hom Mali at 15000 per tonne

[marstons]

Simple fact is thats the market price and the farmers need to start and improve and produce better quality rice at the correct humidity along with a reduction in herbicides and pesticides that has lost them business., its an expensive job for the millers etc to get it to the correct humidity level and after all they are buying expensive water. Nations around have over taken in quality and production costs and unless the Thai public is prepared to subsidise its farmers they will go out of business. British taxpayer pays on average pay about £300 per year to subsidise EU farmers, would the Thai public be prepared to do the same.

Failing that they will have to do what my grand parents did years ago up and move to an area where they can make a living.

Edited March 7, 2014 by marstons

[tomacht8]

That was predictable.
The ill-considered, stupid subsidy scheme of the government, has the inefficiency of rice cultivation obscured, or even encouraged.
Poor quality grades and low yields per unit area.
The competitiveness is damaged for a long time.
After rent, seed and fertilizer for many farmers remains no longer enough to live, or to pay back their loans.

Aside from corruption, one big error was to give the farmers the subsidy money without investment bond.
Rather than to invest in modern machines, better farming methods, new irrigation systems, new seed varieties;
instead many have bought new cars and televisions (many on credit).

Furthermore, unfortunately only the big farmers.have benefited from the existing rice scheme subsidy.
Bigger framers cope better with low margins, they make profits with their large acreage
Particularly now the small farmers have to pay the bill for this rice scheme error

Now a new smart government is needed.

Edited March 7, 2014 by tomacht8

[Thai at Heart]

Simple fact is thats the market price and the farmers need to start and improve and produce better quality rice at the correct humidity along with a reduction in herbicides and pesticides that has lost them business., its an expensive job for the millers etc to get it to the correct humidity level and after all they are buying expensive water. Nations around have over taken in quality and production costs and unless the Thai public is prepared to subsidise its farmers they will go out of business. British taxpayer pays on average pay about £300 per year to subsidise EU farmers, would the Thai public be prepared to do the same.

Failing that they will have to do what my grand parents did years ago up and move to an area where they can make a living.

They need bigger volume and sustained quality.

I do object that reportedly farmers are screwed by the buyers for moisture and quality and there is no redress.

[surangw]

isn't this going contrary to thai business practice of raising prices when things don't sell ?

[Thai at Heart]

isn't this going contrary to thai business practice of raising prices when things don't sell ?

This is chinese middleman practice.....

[kikoman]

The world over it is the farmers who take the risk and get shafted by the bulk selling middle people.

Not under Abhisit's rice mortgage scheme it wasn't!!!!!

Nonsense. If anything it was more prone to millers robbing the ordinary farmers.

Under the previous insurance scheme of of Abhisit , farmers sold to millers and were reimbursed for the difference if the rice was bought below 11,000 baht. With the PTP rice mortgage scheme, farmers will sell rice directly to the government for 15,000 baht.

By all means complain and mock this joke of a policy that is literally ruining the economy, but don`t let your yellow specks convince you the Dem version was corruption free or ideal. The only reason it was slightly more sustainable was because it didnt pay them as much.

Still find this forum amazing in the way so many guys mock a corrupt and inefficient government and crave an equally corrupt and inefficient one to return in its place. The fact they are both useless is beyond their comprehension.

Our families in Central Thailand received 11,000 Baht per ton of rice for last Octobers harvest which is around $340.per ton, a few in the village sold rice at 12,000 baht per ton. Farmers say that the 15000 baht per ton is paid for Jasmine rice which seems to low considering Jasmine high price on the international market.

I have not run across one farmer in our area that has been paid more than 12000 baht per ton for his rice!

Cheers

[naboo]

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

Certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages.

But you're suggesting people produce less of the staple of all those areas in order to make it more financially viable.

Perhaps there's an alternative way forward.

95% of the worlds rice is consumed in country. Exported rice comes from 4 or 5 countries and is a tiny volume versus the total.

Starving countries are not importing hom Mali at 15000 per tonne

Your second point is not relevant.

A reduction in production of Hom Mali will cause an increase in price, causing a greater demand for rice of lower quality, meaning that price too rises, and ultimately we've produced less rice, and so there is less to eat.

My point is you can't leave something like food production to market forces. People will starve. Production of rice needs to be encouraged as it is a necessity and economically it is not an attractive job.

Not that this disaster of a scheme was the right way to go about it.

[Thai at Heart]

The world over it is the farmers who take the risk and get shafted by the bulk selling middle people.

Not under Abhisit's rice mortgage scheme it wasn't!!!!!

Nonsense. If anything it was more prone to millers robbing the ordinary farmers.

Under the previous insurance scheme of of Abhisit , farmers sold to millers and were reimbursed for the difference if the rice was bought below 11,000 baht. With the PTP rice mortgage scheme, farmers will sell rice directly to the government for 15,000 baht.

By all means complain and mock this joke of a policy that is literally ruining the economy, but don`t let your yellow specks convince you the Dem version was corruption free or ideal. The only reason it was slightly more sustainable was because it didnt pay them as much.

Still find this forum amazing in the way so many guys mock a corrupt and inefficient government and crave an equally corrupt and inefficient one to return in its place. The fact they are both useless is beyond their comprehension.

Our families in Central Thailand received 11,000 Baht per ton of rice for last Octobers harvest which is around $340.per ton, a few in the village sold rice at 12,000 baht per ton. Farmers say that the 15000 baht per ton is paid for Jasmine rice which seems to low considering Jasmine high price on the international market.

I have not run across one farmer in our area that has been paid more than 12000 baht per ton for his rice!

Cheers

And again.

15000 is to the farmer, not for offer at the port.

Moisture and processing loss, profit and all the rest has to be incurred. they make too much as middle men, but it is not ALL cream

[Thai at Heart]

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

Certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages.

But you're suggesting people produce less of the staple of all those areas in order to make it more financially viable.

Perhaps there's an alternative way forward.

95% of the worlds rice is consumed in country. Exported rice comes from 4 or 5 countries and is a tiny volume versus the total.

Starving countries are not importing hom Mali at 15000 per tonne

Your second point is not relevant.

A reduction in production of Hom Mali will cause an increase in price, causing a greater demand for rice of lower quality, meaning that price too rises, and ultimately we've produced less rice, and so there is less to eat.

My point is you can't leave something like food production to market forces. People will starve. Production of rice needs to be encouraged as it is a necessity and economically it is not an attractive job.

Not that this disaster of a scheme was the right way to go about it.

The vast majority of what Thailand has to export is not Hom Mali. That makes up only 2mn tonnes of the 9mn they used to export.

No you should not leave it 100% to market forces either, but Thailand produces more than enough for itself. 30% of its crop is for export. Is it the Thai tax payers job to pay to feed the world? I don't think so. If the Indians improve their yields and shipping losses, the world wouldn't know what to do with all the rice. The export market is a spec in the total prouction. The biggest importers are China, Indonesia and Nigeria.

if they started to eat a bit of bread instead of so much rice, there would be a world glut of rice

Edited March 7, 2014 by Thai at Heart

[tomacht8]

Pattayaorganic

Well you obviously know nothing about agricultural business and how it works. The rice millers have investment in large infrastructure for milling and they have to purchase raw material, pay for the labor, energy and capital expenses and make a reasonable profit on the their polished rice that they sell.

So you are stating that the rice scheme itself has not any problems at all on the government side it is only the evil rice millers that are at fault here? Wow...obviously you have more in the scrotum than in the skull.

Bottom line is that Dr. Taksin in all his genius thought that he could keep Thai rice off the international market and the price would skyrocket and then everybody would profit (except the poor people who depend on cheap rice) and everything would be dandy.

Well it didn't quite work out that way. This scheme has lost more money in two years than it took to build one of the most expensive science projects in history, the Large Hadron Collider. Don't you think rural Thais would have been much better off if some of that money was invested in schools and teachers and agricultural extension service to support Thai farmers who want to diversify their crops? That is how a market economy works.

This is also the reason why centrally planned economies do NOT work. Rural Thailand needs investment in education and agricultural extension but that doesn't fill the coffers of the Taksin Elite. The man who supposedly was out for the rural Thais took them to the cleaners and ran away with billions while farmers are left to kill themselves and their worthless IOU slips.

Kikoman

I disagree with your comment "Wow...obviously you have more in the scrotum than in the skull". a person that has more in the skull does not resort to below the belt comments.to make a point!

On the international market today according to www.riceauthority.com/prices ,on 5% broken white rice.

Thailand $549.per ton

Myanmar $446.30 " "

Cambodia $560. " "

Vietnam $428, " "

Pakistan $475. " "

India $460 " "

Brazil $550. " "

USA $530. " "

The article did not say who is offering the 8000-8200 bath per ton, which is in the area of $300 per ton less then the international market price. Actually more than what the Thai rice farmer will be paid for his rice!

Only adds up to Thai middle man trying to take advantage of Thai rice farmers, It won't take long for the rice farmers to find out that PTP is the one watching out for their interest!

Your logic is out of line no one has the right to make more money on Thailand's rice than the rice farmers, there is no way you or anyone else can justify what you posted!

Cheers

AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH. Please.

The price at the port FOB INCLUDES YIELD LOSS DURING PROCESSING

I have said this hundreds of times on this forum. It is not like an orange where one kilogram off the tree makes one kilogram on your plate.

1 kilogram from the farmer in Thailand under perfect conditions makes maybe 75 grams on your plate. There is moisture and all the husk that will be removed.

So 8000 * 25% = 2000+8000= 10,000 baht. Plus costs and margin = 11,000 baht + shipping to the port at BEST. Yes the middleman gets paid too much but.....

Please people stop comparing the price that the farmer receives with what the buyer pays at the port. It is not a comparison price.

Some posters do not know the difference between paddy and 5% broken white milled rice.

Anyway your calc. is good.

Only one Typo: 1 kg (1000grams) paddy is, depending on the mill and raw material = 650grams to 750grams on your plate.(dry matter)

Edited March 7, 2014 by tomacht8

[kikoman]

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

Certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages.

But you're suggesting people produce less of the staple of all those areas in order to make it more financially viable.

Perhaps there's an alternative way forward.

95% of the worlds rice is consumed in country. Exported rice comes from 4 or 5 countries and is a tiny volume versus the total.

Starving countries are not importing hom Mali at 15000 per tonne

The rice farmers around Nakhon Sawan are not being paid 15,000 baht per ton,The average is 11,000 baht per ton selling to the government rice scheme. so the price you are stating is not factual!

The lower priced edible rice can be sold in the Third world countries, it is less then truthful to say there is to much rice being produced in the world.

Their is no excuse to cut back rice farming production when there is so much hunger in the world!

Cheers

[Thai at Heart]

Are you aware of the world price for buying rice?

Maybe to many farmers growing rice

Certain parts of India, China, the Horn of Africa and many other African nations, and many South Asian countries all suffer from food shortages.

But you're suggesting people produce less of the staple of all those areas in order to make it more financially viable.

Perhaps there's an alternative way forward.

95% of the worlds rice is consumed in country. Exported rice comes from 4 or 5 countries and is a tiny volume versus the total.

Starving countries are not importing hom Mali at 15000 per tonne

The rice farmers around Nakhon Sawan are not being paid 15,000 baht per ton,The average is 11,000 baht per ton selling to the government rice scheme. so the price you are stating is not factual!

The lower priced edible rice can be sold in the Third world countries, it is less then truthful to say there is to much rice being produced in the world.

Their is no excuse to cut back rice farming production when there is so much hunger in the world!

Cheers

No actually, they are paying 900 USD per tonne FOB Bangkok which is the current going rate.

No, I mean that there is no particular reason for Thailand to be taking responsibility to lose money to feed the world. It is estimated that in India alone if they got their yields sorted out and improved logistics they could feed another 500 mn people. It makes Thailand's 10mn tonnes of exports look utterly piddly. Thailand is lucky to grow a surplus, but it doesn't need to. India doesn't want to buy expensive Thai rice, China doesn't want to buy expensive Thai rice. A couple of million tons sold to China versus their production of 200mn tonnes?

I think all this rice is for use in 5 start hotels and Thai restaurants. It is certainly not for feeding the masses.

[kikoman]

One must keep in mind what the topic on the thread is that prices are dropping for rice in Thailand, and it is not because of a decrease in the international price, and the forces of supply and demand, it is internal monopoly on rice middleman that is taking advantage of the Thai Rice farmers.

When it cost more to produce the rice then you can sell it for it is time to look into other crops to grow or to leave farming completely and sell you crop land to developers!

Thailand has lost its ranking on rice exporting that it will never gain again by paying lower prices to the farmer!

Cheers

[GuestHouse]

Pattayaorganic

Well you obviously know nothing about agricultural business and how it works. The rice millers have investment in large infrastructure for milling and they have to purchase raw material, pay for the labor, energy and capital expenses and make a reasonable profit on the their polished rice that they sell.

So you are stating that the rice scheme itself has not any problems at all on the government side it is only the evil rice millers that are at fault here? Wow...obviously you have more in the scrotum than in the skull.

Bottom line is that Dr. Taksin in all his genius thought that he could keep Thai rice off the international market and the price would skyrocket and then everybody would profit (except the poor people who depend on cheap rice) and everything would be dandy.

Well it didn't quite work out that way. This scheme has lost more money in two years than it took to build one of the most expensive science projects in history, the Large Hadron Collider. Don't you think rural Thais would have been much better off if some of that money was invested in schools and teachers and agricultural extension service to support Thai farmers who want to diversify their crops? That is how a market economy works.

This is also the reason why centrally planned economies do NOT work. Rural Thailand needs investment in education and agricultural extension but that doesn't fill the coffers of the Taksin Elite. The man who supposedly was out for the rural Thais took them to the cleaners and ran away with billions while farmers are left to kill themselves and their worthless IOU slips.

Kikoman

I disagree with your comment "Wow...obviously you have more in the scrotum than in the skull". a person that has more in the skull does not resort to below the belt comments.to make a point!

On the international market today according to www.riceauthority.com/prices ,on 5% broken white rice.

Thailand $549.per ton

Myanmar $446.30 " "

Cambodia $560. " "

Vietnam $428, " "

Pakistan $475. " "

India $460 " "

Brazil $550. " "

USA $530. " "

The article did not say who is offering the 8000-8200 bath per ton, which is in the area of $300 per ton less then the international market price. Actually more than what the Thai rice farmer will be paid for his rice!

Only adds up to Thai middle man trying to take advantage of Thai rice farmers, It won't take long for the rice farmers to find out that PTP is the one watching out for their interest!

Your logic is out of line no one has the right to make more money on Thailand's rice than the rice farmers, there is no way you or anyone else can justify what you posted!

Cheers

AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH. Please.

The price at the port FOB INCLUDES YIELD LOSS DURING PROCESSING

I have said this hundreds of times on this forum. It is not like an orange where one kilogram off the tree makes one kilogram on your plate.

1 kilogram from the farmer in Thailand under perfect conditions makes maybe 75 grams on your plate. There is moisture and all the husk that will be removed.

So 8000 * 25% = 2000+8000= 10,000 baht. Plus costs and margin = 11,000 baht + shipping to the port at BEST. Yes the middleman gets paid too much but.....

Please people stop comparing the price that the farmer receives with what the buyer pays at the port. It is not a comparison price.

Very well said, and thanks for explaining the numbers to our Red Warrior in Chief….. though you and I both know he will not be listening.

Edited March 7, 2014 by GuestHouse

[Thai at Heart]

Pattayaorganic

Well you obviously know nothing about agricultural business and how it works. The rice millers have investment in large infrastructure for milling and they have to purchase raw material, pay for the labor, energy and capital expenses and make a reasonable profit on the their polished rice that they sell.

So you are stating that the rice scheme itself has not any problems at all on the government side it is only the evil rice millers that are at fault here? Wow...obviously you have more in the scrotum than in the skull.

Bottom line is that Dr. Taksin in all his genius thought that he could keep Thai rice off the international market and the price would skyrocket and then everybody would profit (except the poor people who depend on cheap rice) and everything would be dandy.

Well it didn't quite work out that way. This scheme has lost more money in two years than it took to build one of the most expensive science projects in history, the Large Hadron Collider. Don't you think rural Thais would have been much better off if some of that money was invested in schools and teachers and agricultural extension service to support Thai farmers who want to diversify their crops? That is how a market economy works.

This is also the reason why centrally planned economies do NOT work. Rural Thailand needs investment in education and agricultural extension but that doesn't fill the coffers of the Taksin Elite. The man who supposedly was out for the rural Thais took them to the cleaners and ran away with billions while farmers are left to kill themselves and their worthless IOU slips.

Kikoman

I disagree with your comment "Wow...obviously you have more in the scrotum than in the skull". a person that has more in the skull does not resort to below the belt comments.to make a point!

On the international market today according to www.riceauthority.com/prices ,on 5% broken white rice.

Thailand $549.per ton

Myanmar $446.30 " "

Cambodia $560. " "

Vietnam $428, " "

Pakistan $475. " "

India $460 " "

Brazil $550. " "

USA $530. " "

The article did not say who is offering the 8000-8200 bath per ton, which is in the area of $300 per ton less then the international market price. Actually more than what the Thai rice farmer will be paid for his rice!

Only adds up to Thai middle man trying to take advantage of Thai rice farmers, It won't take long for the rice farmers to find out that PTP is the one watching out for their interest!

Your logic is out of line no one has the right to make more money on Thailand's rice than the rice farmers, there is no way you or anyone else can justify what you posted!

Cheers

AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH. Please.

The price at the port FOB INCLUDES YIELD LOSS DURING PROCESSING

I have said this hundreds of times on this forum. It is not like an orange where one kilogram off the tree makes one kilogram on your plate.

1 kilogram from the farmer in Thailand under perfect conditions makes maybe 75 grams on your plate. There is moisture and all the husk that will be removed.

So 8000 * 25% = 2000+8000= 10,000 baht. Plus costs and margin = 11,000 baht + shipping to the port at BEST. Yes the middleman gets paid too much but.....

Please people stop comparing the price that the farmer receives with what the buyer pays at the port. It is not a comparison price.

Why would the price for milling rice be any more expensive today then what it has been in past years. the argument does not hold water! The difference between 5% broken and 25% broken is only $5. per ton cheaper on the international market prices .today,

Why should the millers make a bigger profit on the rice then the farmers!

Go look at the prices. It is all to do with supply and demand, versus yeild per rai and the quality. |Hom mail goes out of the port at 900 USD because it is premium low volume product, cheap volume rubbish goes out at 300 USD . There is lots of 300 USD quality rice around, but not so much top quality Hom Mali. The millers are not going to buy from the market too high, if they think after milling it, they won't be able to sell it. The issue is what is an acceptable net profit for the miller in the middle and this is where the system falls down. Along side the private companies there should be a government mill competing for 20% of the market. 15,000 is for the best quality delievered rice with only 15% moisture. 20% moisture goes for less and also reduces the yield because of breakage so the millers pay less. In a perfect process, the grain loses 25% weight, but if it is too wet, loss can be 50% easily. So 8000 per ton, can become 16000 per ton if the moisture content is too high when it is bought due to breakage.

For me, after tax the miller should be able to make 10%. No more. But he takes on a lot fo risk. To achieve this, you need competition, but of course that is never going to be allowed to happen. The market won't allow both the farmer and the miller to make a whopping profit, so the issue is how to insure it gets split and also split the currency, weather and disaster risk equitably? But reality is, the price is 900USD per tonne. How many tonnes can a farmer in Thailand grow individually and expect to make a living in comparison with America where one farmer produces 100000 times the volume.

The mathematics of being a rice farmer in Thailand today are not good. Teh mathematics of being a miller anywhere in the world have always been pretty good. What is a farmer going to do? Drive 100 kms to deliver his crop to another mill?

Edited March 7, 2014 by Thai at Heart

[aimbc]

Not sure where the "media" gets its prices from, but the Global Rice Price website, Oryza shows the lowest priced Thai Rice quotes, "Thailand A1 broken", as $310-320 a ton, roughly 10,000 baht a ton

http://oryza.com/

The UN FAO site states the same price for rice exports $310 a ton

http://www.fao.org/economic/est/publications/rice-publications/the-fao-rice-price-update/en/

and if you want a comparison site for a company selling the rice on, "Rice Authority" who, they state, "have the lowest prices in the industry" quote Thai A1 super broken at $532 per metric tonne

http://www.riceauthority.com/prices/

Perhaps someone can tell me if I'm reading these sites wrongly?

Yeah you are not thinking business. It is now a buyers market as farmers need the money. They will sell the rice at any price. The result of a vote buying scheme that really went bad. Irresponsible governance. Govt has so much rice left, mostly bad, and now millers have fresh new rice, who is going to buy rice from the govt., now. One other thing, very few farmers got paid the full amount when they sold the rice to the govt. But I bet the govt or miller will do some creative accounting to draw the full amount from the scheme.

EC may be in trouble as well for approving the loan instead of demanding a full investigation into the rice scheme as it is highly suspicious before approving the loan. A 120 billion baht in the hole highly suspicious.

And surely China will not buy rice from the govt. So there goes more collapse of the rice scam. Good attempt, but riddle with corruption. Such a shame and people still believe in this govt. Something is really wrong with this picture.

[GuestHouse]

One must keep in mind what the topic on the thread is that prices are dropping for rice in Thailand, and it is not because of a decrease in the international price, and the forces of supply and demand, it is internal monopoly on rice middleman that is taking advantage of the Thai Rice farmers.

When it cost more to produce the rice then you can sell it for it is time to look into other crops to grow or to leave farming completely and sell you crop land to developers!

Thailand has lost its ranking on rice exporting that it will never gain again by paying lower prices to the farmer!

Cheers

A couple of points, here - I absolutely agree that the internal monopoly of rice middlemen is placing pressure on Thai rice farmers - reducing the price they can sell their rice.

But the answer to that was not for the government to take over the monopoly - the answer was and remains to open the market to let as many buyers as possible buy directly from the farmers at the farm gate.

But the PTP ignored that option, choosing instead to establish a government monopoly buying rice at a price above the market value.

The government were warned by the industry and by academics and civil groups that the rice policy would create corruption and distort the market - The government has ignored those warnings, the rice policy has created corruption and has distorted the rice market.

Worse still the policy has undermined the Thailand's rice growing industry.

The rice in store cannot be sold (witness PTP lies regarding contracts and MoU that never existed).

The rice is store is of questionable quality - both in terms of long term storage and the fact that no quality controls were placed on the rice purchase contracts.

The massive subsidy has increased production of rice of any quality, forced up land rent prices, forced up the price of fertilisers - forced up farmer production costs.

The problem is now not selling rice from the last two years, its how is Thailand going to sell rice from the years ahead?

The PTP policy has wrecked Thailand's rice growing industry - the tens of thousands of rice farmers that have not been paid for their rice from last year are only the tip of an ®iceberg - Thailand's rice growing farmers are going to bear the cost of this failed policy for years to come.

Edited March 7, 2014 by GuestHouse

[GuestHouse]

Oh and by the way - the big profit in Thai rice these days is simply storing it. (and providing security to keep reporters and the public out).