Thailand 'secures' rice deal with the Philippines

[webfact]

Thailand 'Secures' Rice Deal With the Philippines
By Khaosod English



BANGKOK — Thailand has reached a trade agreement that will allow the kingdom to sell at least three million tonnes of rice to the Philippines over the next three years, a top official said.

The two countries signed a a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 22 April, and the Thai Minister of Commerce, Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan, said he expects to send an initial shipment of 1.4 tonnes of rice to the Philippines by end of 2014.

The government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been under pressure to sell the massive stockpiles of rice it has accumulated under its controversial rice-pledging scheme, which bought the rice from Thai farmers at above-market prices.

The government has struggled to sell the rice on the market without facing huge loses, and thousands of rice farmers have taken to the streets over the past few months to protest the government's failure to pay them in a timely manner.

But Mr. Niwatthamrong said the government will pay the farmers "soon" with the emergency loan of 20 billion baht it has recently acquired from the central budget.

"We need around two weeks to consider this matter," Mr. Niwatthamrong insisted.

Anan Lila, secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), said the price of rice has dropped by 30-40% this month because of the government’s massive stockpiles of rice, which he said destablise the domestic rice market.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1398341602&typecate=06&section=


-- Khaosod English 2014-04-25

[WoopyDoo]

I have no faith in ANY Khaosod reports any more.

They are all for scoring brownie points for the government and have no real checkable basis.

All the mainstream media seem to never pick up on their stories, in fact as far as this report goes, Vietnam has already scuppered Thailand's rice deals with Phils.... This is more believable as it is reported more widely than these unfounded claims.

Even 3 Million tonnes over 3 years if in fact true is nothing considering the huge reserves that are rotting and won't even make that timeframe, and all the rice produced here in that time makes it irrelevant to the main rice predicament..... if in fact it is true which I doubt.

[issanaus]

OK so which 20 million is this? The one they had before that they did not distribute because they correctly understood that they would not be able to repay it within the specified time. Or is it part of the 40 million that they were talking about talking to the EC about after a discussion and approval within cabinet?

MOU - is like saying that you are married because you have become engaged.

How about the government being open, honest and transparent for once!

[Robby nz]

What the heck ?

They have just been beaten by Vietnam in an auction to sell 800,000 tons of rice to the Philippines and now they announce they are going to sell them more.

I somehow doubt it as Vietnam would be the obvious supplier of choice unless Thailand has dropped their price way down.

But of course, as we saw with China, an MOU is not a contract, if one exists at all.

But Mr. Niwatthamrong said the government will pay the farmers "soon" with the emergency loan of 20 billion baht it has recently acquired from the central budget.

So they haven't as yet paid the farmers any of the 20 billion they borrowed as an emergency loan over a month ago.

Yet they said they have repaid 10 billion of the loan this month and will repay the rest next month.

The fish smell I alluded to in a former topic has just got very rotten.

[jaidam]

What is wrong with little white lies? Especially when they make the farmers and fanbois huddle up for some mutual masturbation over the greatness that is the desert prince and his family of successors in waiting. For the rest of us we get a bit of a giggle over the ever more contradictory and ridiculous claims this wreck of a govt makes on a daily basis.

[thesetat2013]

Seriously. Last attempt to sell rice to the phillipines was lost due to being outbidded by vietnam. This OP doesnt say it is an agreement to purchase. It say an agreement of understanding. Very misleading and probably done to ease the fears so the Gov can get their 40 bill loan to pay the farmers.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[NongKhaiKid]

" and this is the document ' said Neville Chamberlin as he waved a worthless peace treaty signed with Hitler.

So what's the MOU worth, if it actually exists, and will the Minister of Commerce make it public ? Two chances of that I think, nothing and f...k all.

Anyway the farmers can sleep a little easier as they will be paid ' soon '. Anyone care to speculate on the PTP definition of ' soon ' ?

[rhythmworx]

Better than eating pag pag I suppose.

[Ricardo]

What are the agreed-price & payment-terms, on this alleged deal, and is it for new-season rice or old 'matured-rice' from the stockpile ?

And why does it take "two weeks to consider this matter", when it comes to paying the farmers some more of what they're owed, incredible or untrue ?

[pedro01]

This is a trade agreement, not an outright sale.

So I presume Thailand has to give some concessions to Philippines in return, right?

[MaxLee]

Oops, just kidding....

[issanaus]

This is a trade agreement, not an outright sale.

So I presume Thailand has to give some concessions to Philippines in return, right?

In contractual terms it is an invitation to treat, it is not an offer and some/many of the essential terms would be omitted - such as price/ quantity and delivery.

I think the closest private sector achievement would be getting on an approved tenders list as been able to supply up to 3 million tons if the price was agreeable

[Thaddeus]

If Cow-Sad came up with the headline.

Man in wheel-chair wins marathon.

I wouldn't be shocked.

[WoopyDoo]

What the heck ?

They have just been beaten by Vietnam in an auction to sell 800,000 tons of rice to the Philippines and now they announce they are going to sell them more.

I somehow doubt it as Vietnam would be the obvious supplier of choice unless Thailand has dropped their price way down.

But of course, as we saw with China, an MOU is not a contract, if one exists at all.

But Mr. Niwatthamrong said the government will pay the farmers "soon" with the emergency loan of 20 billion baht it has recently acquired from the central budget.

So they haven't as yet paid the farmers any of the 20 billion they borrowed as an emergency loan over a month ago.

Yet they said they have repaid 10 billion of the loan this month and will repay the rest next month.

The fish smell I alluded to in a former topic has just got very rotten.

Robby...

The best thing is for the EC to do is demand all the accounts from the last 20 Bn loan to be sent to the NACC for scrutiny and to publicly release all contents and their opinion.

It is about time the public and especially the rice farmers had it fully explained what happens to the money once it is in the hands of PTP ministers.

It is only 20Bn and over a short period of time.... would be very interesting to see what has been siphoned off already in so called 'costs'.

Edited April 25, 2014 by WoopyDoo

[issanaus]

What the heck ?

They have just been beaten by Vietnam in an auction to sell 800,000 tons of rice to the Philippines and now they announce they are going to sell them more.

I somehow doubt it as Vietnam would be the obvious supplier of choice unless Thailand has dropped their price way down.

But of course, as we saw with China, an MOU is not a contract, if one exists at all.

But Mr. Niwatthamrong said the government will pay the farmers "soon" with the emergency loan of 20 billion baht it has recently acquired from the central budget.

So they haven't as yet paid the farmers any of the 20 billion they borrowed as an emergency loan over a month ago.

Yet they said they have repaid 10 billion of the loan this month and will repay the rest next month.

The fish smell I alluded to in a former topic has just got very rotten.

Robby...

The best thing is for the EC to do is demand all the accounts from the last 20 Bn loan to be sent to the NACC for scrutiny and to publicly release all contents and their opinion.

It is about time the public and especially the rice farmers had it fully explained what happens to the money once it is in the hands of PTP ministers.

It is only 20Bn and over a short period of time.... would be very interesting to see what has been siphoned off already in so called 'costs'.

Where was it deposited? What happened to the interest received?

[ezzra]

I wonder how much they had to pay the Filipinos to take the rotting rice of their hands....

[Tatsujin]

Don't get too excited, it's only an MoU (not set in stone) and according to the first statement by the idiot that is the Minister of Silly Financing, they're only sending 1.4 tonnes, and it's already 4 months late (he expects to send an initial shipment of 1.4 tonnes of rice to the Philippines by end of 2014)

[somchaismith]

Selling rice to the eskimos!

[AleG]

That is the same as saying that I have secured a fortune by buying a lottery ticket.

[pedro01]

This is a trade agreement, not an outright sale.

So I presume Thailand has to give some concessions to Philippines in return, right?

In contractual terms it is an invitation to treat, it is not an offer and some/many of the essential terms would be omitted - such as price/ quantity and delivery.

I think the closest private sector achievement would be getting on an approved tenders list as been able to supply up to 3 million tons if the price was agreeable

I'm not talking about the fact it's an MOU.

I'm talking about the fact it's not a sale of rice. It's a Trade agreement. That's usually some sort of quid pro quo arrangement - you know - you buy our rice in exchange for concessions or a purchase of your goods in return.

[pedro01]

Don't get too excited, it's only an MoU (not set in stone) and according to the first statement by the idiot that is the Minister of Silly Financing, they're only sending 1.4 tonnes, and it's already 4 months late (he expects to send an initial shipment of 1.4 tonnes of rice to the Philippines by end of 2014)

You in 2015 already then?

Here on planet earth it's still 2014 and it's not 4 months late.

[Tatsujin]

Don't get too excited, it's only an MoU (not set in stone) and according to the first statement by the idiot that is the Minister of Silly Financing, they're only sending 1.4 tonnes, and it's already 4 months late (he expects to send an initial shipment of 1.4 tonnes of rice to the Philippines by end of 2014)

You in 2015 already then?

Here on planet earth it's still 2014 and it's not 4 months late.

You are quite correct, I was obviously getting ahead if myself on dates lol

It's still only 1.4 tonnes however according to him and will only happen at end of this year, farmers got to wait another 8 months?

[wandasloan]

All the mainstream media seem to never pick up on their stories, in fact as far as this report goes, Vietnam has already scuppered Thailand's rice deals with Phils.... This is more believable as it is reported more widely than these unfounded claims.

No, your report is as credible as the OP. As this ACTUAL report from Vietnam says, this three-year proposal from Manila that the government is working on, is quite separate from a recent Vietnam sale to the Philippines. Vietnam has scuppered exactly nothing, but has made a rice sale.

If you are depending on short reports on Thai Visa of what is happening in Thailand (or anywhere), you aren't informed. Use those horrible little OPs as a reference to find out the real story. There *is* a story about rice sales to the Philippines or, if you prefer, many stories, and you can find out about them if you want. None of them, not one of them that's worth anything is in the OP and I haven't seen one by a poster yet, either. This isn't X-Files stuff, but the truth IS out there.

.

[Thaddeus]

All the mainstream media seem to never pick up on their stories, in fact as far as this report goes, Vietnam has already scuppered Thailand's rice deals with Phils.... This is more believable as it is reported more widely than these unfounded claims.

No, your report is as credible as the OP. As this ACTUAL report from Vietnam says, this three-year proposal from Manila that the government is working on, is quite separate from a recent Vietnam sale to the Philippines. Vietnam has scuppered exactly nothing, but has made a rice sale.

If you are depending on short reports on Thai Visa of what is happening in Thailand (or anywhere), you aren't informed. Use those horrible little OPs as a reference to find out the real story. There *is* a story about rice sales to the Philippines or, if you prefer, many stories, and you can find out about them if you want. None of them, not one of them that's worth anything is in the OP and I haven't seen one by a poster yet, either. This isn't X-Files stuff, but the truth IS out there.

.

There is a very large difference between "Deal" "Trade Agreement" and "Sale"

Until the product is out of storage, delivered and paid for it isn't even close to "Sale"

[Scamper]

Another incredulous report based on the science that the international community is interested in buying rice that been stored for years.

" Anan Lila, secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), said the price of rice has dropped by 30-40% this month because of the government’s massive stockpiles of rice, which he said destablise the domestic rice market. "

That's it in a nutshell. If these " deals " are ever finalized, that is the cost of them - to the deficit, to the farmers, and to the rice industry.

[bigbamboo]

" Are you sitting comfortably children? Then I'll begin."

[Robby nz]

What the heck ?

They have just been beaten by Vietnam in an auction to sell 800,000 tons of rice to the Philippines and now they announce they are going to sell them more.

I somehow doubt it as Vietnam would be the obvious supplier of choice unless Thailand has dropped their price way down.

But of course, as we saw with China, an MOU is not a contract, if one exists at all.

But Mr. Niwatthamrong said the government will pay the farmers "soon" with the emergency loan of 20 billion baht it has recently acquired from the central budget.

So they haven't as yet paid the farmers any of the 20 billion they borrowed as an emergency loan over a month ago.

Yet they said they have repaid 10 billion of the loan this month and will repay the rest next month.

The fish smell I alluded to in a former topic has just got very rotten.

Robby...

The best thing is for the EC to do is demand all the accounts from the last 20 Bn loan to be sent to the NACC for scrutiny and to publicly release all contents and their opinion.

It is about time the public and especially the rice farmers had it fully explained what happens to the money once it is in the hands of PTP ministers.

It is only 20Bn and over a short period of time.... would be very interesting to see what has been siphoned off already in so called 'costs'.

Where was it deposited? What happened to the interest received?

Exactly, and they still have 10 billion of it or possible the whole 20 billion if the 10 billion repaid came from rice sales.

20 billion on deposit for 2 months at say 2% pa interest, a nice little redundancy payment for a caretaker minister.

Considering that he has just said it hasn't been paid to the farmers they seem to be giving the NACC plenty of new amo to use against them.

[tomross46]

A Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU ) means nothing. It is only the first step to a negotiated contract. Nothing is fixed until the rice is inspected by the buyer and accepted. The rice will again be inspected again at point of receipt to ensure the product received is the same as the product purchased. This is done to ensure there has not been any tampering with the cargo. You ordered new rice and received old contaminated rice. This happens in some parts of the world.

[GuestHouse]

The farmers where supposed to have been paid in October 2013.

Then when they rallied and headed for Bangkok they were promised payment no later than the end of March 2014.

As May approaches, the payment will be 'soon'.

And just out of curiosity - what price is the rice under this MoU? (which by the way is not a sale agreement).

PTP truth dodgers.

[godden]

Can't you take a joke.