Thailand regains top rice exporter crown

[Crushdepth]

Thailand regains top rice exporter crown

It predicted that Thailand will be the second biggest rice exporter selling 9 million tons, trailing India which should export around 10 million tons. Vietnam will export 6.5 million tons of rice this year.

Not sure about the headline here.

The headline is misleading. It's not fact, just a "prediction" by an honorary association guy with a few vested interests.

Crap article about nothing, basically.

[DubaiIsCalling]

Oh my goodness, I already dread to read tomorrow's newspaper headlines:

"Thailand Regains Global Rice HUB Status"

"Thailand Resumes Position as Global Rice HUB"

"Thai Exporters HUBby To Rebound As World's Top Rice Suppliers"

"Thailand Is Rice HUB Once Again!"

It's a miracle! Hardily 2 weeks of military repression and Thailand ranks top tourist destination SEA and the biggest rice Suppliers.

Every day is lovely to wake up and wait for the next happy news.

[techboy]

Well of course you're going to get the top spot if you're selling everything at a loss, and undercutting all other exporters in price because your stock is crap. There's always a PoundShop buyer!

Really? Is that how it is? I think that you are trying to pass your personal speculation as fact.

[techboy]

Thailand regains top rice exporter crown

It predicted that Thailand will be the second biggest rice exporter selling 9 million tons, trailing India which should export around 10 million tons. Vietnam will export 6.5 million tons of rice this year.

Not sure about the headline here.

The headline is misleading. It's not fact, just a "prediction" by an honorary association guy with a few vested interests.

Crap article about nothing, basically.

How dare you?

[HUAHIN62]

There are a couple of bright lights at the end of the tunnel one is that if Thailands yield per hectare was the same as that of Vietnam the surplus would have been more than double. Maybe the second one could be that world food prices are starting to rise and are expected to go higher than the 2008 peak. With the expected El Nino to hit the region at year end production should decrease as well as stocks.

[allan michaud]

Confused as always by Thai math experts. If you sell 9million tons for Baht150billion ($4.74billion) that means you got an average of Baht16,666 baht per ton, yet the article states they are getting less than $400 (B12,800), which would be nearer B115,000,000 ($3.75billion). But what the hell, it's only a billion dollars, no biggie.

Also the genius states prices should rise because of the huge Thai stockpile... errr what? The reason your price is so low is you have such a huge stockpile. Supply and demand.

[StefanBBK]

So, do I get this right?

The rice was bought from the Farmers for 458 $/ton (15,000THB) and then sold at 390 $/ton.

That is a loss of $68/ton.

or 68*3,930,000 = $267,240,000 in total.

that would be 8,737,411,800.00 Thai Baht

[Thai at Heart]

Well of course you're going to get the top spot if you're selling everything at a loss, and undercutting all other exporters in price because your stock is crap. There's always a PoundShop buyer!

Um, read this

Storage Conditions. The best temperature to store grains, including rice, is 40°F or below; however, rice stored at a constant 70° F with oxygen absorbers will store well for up to 10 years. In cooler storage areas rice sealed in oxygen-free containers can be stored for up to 30 years. A B.Y.U. study sampling polished rice and parboiled rice stored from 1 to 30 years found that both types of rice will keep their nutrients and flavor up to 30 years.

The question is -- how do Thais store rice stockpiles? -- are there oxygen reducers and

dehumidifiers whatsoever? If both questions are a 'no' then Thai rice could be stored for around five years with little appreciable loss of quality as long as it stays dry, and no easy trick in the humid conditions here.

As in a LOT of things...we just don't know. A very large portion of information is somewhat unavailable.

Anyone have data, instead of opinions?

There is no way they can keep the rice at those temperatures, so that's out. They'd have to have refrigerated warehouses.

As for the oxygen, the only way to do that is to seal the rice in an oxygen barrier such as mylar, and with it put some oxygen absorbers in sufficient amounts to absorb all of the oxygen. Air is about 20% oxygen and absorbing in a sealed oxygen barrier will leave only inert gas so that the rice can't oxidize, nor can bugs and microorganisms survive. Under those conditions the rice will store indefinitely.

An oxygen absorber is a packet filled with finely ground iron. When placed in with the rice, the iron begins to rust which is oxidizing, using up the oxygen.

This whole process is time consuming and expensive. It is done by "survivalists" to store food that will last for decades. They do it in 5 gallon mylar bags. They put in the grain, unseal the oxygen absorbers which quickly begins to rust, drop them in and very quickly heat seal the bags while the O2 absorbers are still good. The O2 absorbers actually pull a "vacuum" on the bags because of the loss of 20% of the gas (O2) in the bag.

I can't imagine how they could do that on this large a scale.

PS Ever buy a bag of food that seemed inflated like it was pressurized? I buy potato chips and cookies that way. Just as they were sealing the bag, they were injecting carbon dioxide to expel the air as we know it, and therefore the oxygen. It allows the product to stay fresh much longer.

Far far too expensive and the volume is too massive to be practical.

[techboy]

I hope this forcast plays out well- Thailand- Love this place. When these guys have problems they always snap back. May sound simplistic but tit.

[Crushdepth]

So, do I get this right?

The rice was bought from the Farmers for 458 $/ton (15,000THB) and then sold at 390 $/ton.

That is a loss of $68/ton.

or 68*3,930,000 = $267,240,000 in total.

that would be 8,737,411,800.00 Thai Baht

They also have pay ongoing storage costs for however many million tonnes they still have, and who knows how much in losses through degradation and improper handling.

Some of Thailand's biggest client nations are refusing to buy until quality issues are addressed.

[Thai at Heart]

So, do I get this right?

The rice was bought from the Farmers for 458 $/ton (15,000THB) and then sold at 390 $/ton.

That is a loss of $68/ton.

or 68*3,930,000 = $267,240,000 in total.

that would be 8,737,411,800.00 Thai Baht

They also have pay ongoing storage costs for however many million tonnes they still have, and who knows how much in losses through degradation and improper handling.

Some of Thailand's biggest client nations are refusing to buy until quality issues are addressed.

Loss.is much more than that.

Loss during milling is 35% plus moisture.

[belg]

strange, did anyone red reports that thailand was really exporting except some promises of some chinese private company ?

[techboy]

Rubbish. The junta are also saying in the Thai press that the world supports the coup which is crap. Never believe a single thing coming out of the mouths of the military rulers.

Sad to see that there are still a lot of you sore losers out there.

In time, you will come to realise that what the military has done is for the good of the nation, and I for one look forward to the day when KhunT, the man behind all of this mess, is firmly behind bars, and all of his assets are returned to the Thai people from whom they were stolen...!!

"Sore losers?". You mean like in a game of whist or something? Your perception of reality appears to be competitive debate within this forum. Sore. Losers. Oh boy. Edited June 5, 2014 by techboy

[JohnThailandJohn]

A good day for Thailand as typical means a grumpy day for ThaiVisa posters.

Its hardly a good day when they have to sell at the lowest price to get the top spot.

As I said

Let there be no silver linings were some people will only look for and an obsess about clouds.

Edited June 5, 2014 by JohnThailandJohn

[wandasloan]

Confused as always by Thai math experts. If you sell 9million tons for Baht150billion ($4.74billion) that means you got an average of Baht16,666 baht per ton, yet the article states they are getting less than $400 (B12,800), which would be nearer B115,000,000 ($3.75billion). But what the hell, it's only a billion dollars, no biggie.

There are many grades of rice, and every sale is a different price. The "average" price is meaningless. When credible stories refer to a price of rice, they are talking about 5% broken white rice. That is ONE kind of rice Thailand sells.

Also. "Thailand" isn't selling almost any of this rice. Rice traders are selling it. They are salesmen, usually from big companies, sometimes from smaller ones. They work deals like salesmen worldwide.

That was the confused part. But this is the funny part:

Also the genius states prices should rise because of the huge Thai stockpile... errr what? The reason your price is so low is you have such a huge stockpile. Supply and demand.

You have it backwards. What the story is saying (which could be right, but probably won't be) is that Thailand has full, monopoly-like control of the supply. It can then set whatever price it wants. It is always he who controls the supply that sets the price. Those who want/need rice will have to pay whatever price the monopoly rice owner sets.

If I want a phone battery and you have the entire stock of 10,000,000 phone batteries, I have to pay whatever you tell me to pay, or not have a working phone. The fact you have way, way too many phone batteries has no effect on our contract. In fact, knowing you are going to have to throw away millions of batteries only means you will increase your price to me, the hapless buyer. I say "but you have so many batteries". And you say, "Yes, I do. In fact I have them all. If you want one, you pay what I say."

In the real world we all recognise that Thailand does NOT control the world stockpile, and has to compete with others. This gives the demand side leverage. Whether Thailand's hoarding of a huge stockpile of rice can succeed as well as your huge stockpile of batteries in getting higher prices remains to be seen. Most rice people are sceptical, but never say "never".

.

[tim armstrong]

I think Thailand should do a bit more to promote the production and marketing of jasmine fragrant rice as that's where they have the edge, and the higher price for it hasn't changed that much. Other rice varieties are more vulnerable to competition from India and Vietnam. But from observation of the whole catastrophe over the past year, farmers here are a bit like some farmers in other more developed countries who make the assumption that someone will always want their products. But we live in a global marketplace and there is a lot more choice for those with enough money to buy food and ag products from just about anywhere.

[arisaje]

Unfortunately Thailand will have to put up with lower prices until stocks are cleared as buyers are not stupid and know the Thais have a huge surplus to dispose of.

The damage done by the rice scheme is now becoming very apparent as Thai rice used to sell at a premium. Now, despite selling more than India, it will receive less money in total for that sold.

As always it will be the poor farmer that loses out.

Regardless of the price that the rice is sold at…….the poor farmers always lose out, its the middle men and shipping co's that make all the money.

Like most commodities in the world, look at coffee which is traded at year on year highs, the middle men make billions, the coffee producing countries are still as poor as hell...