GI rice business in Phatthalung set to expand to other provinces

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GI rice business in Phatthalung set to expand to other provinces

By SOMLUCK SRIMALEE
THE NATION

 

Richy Rice Products managing director and owner Kanida Sanee presents her rice product, which has helped about 270 farmers in Phatthalung province improve their quality of life.

 

AFTER ITS INITIAL success producing snacks from rice to generate more than Bt20 million in revenue in 2016, Richy Rice Products Co will invest up to Bt15 million to open three shops in tourist destinations such as Songkhla and Phuket in the second half of this year, owner and managing director Kanida Sanee said in a recent interview with The Nation.

 

She said the company opened its first shop, Richy Rice House, in Phatthalung province early this year to sell its products, which include germinated brown Sangyod rice, which is a Geographical Indication (GI) variety. The organic rice is processed into such products as rice snacks and baby crackers, with sales value of more than Bt20 million last year.

 

Kanida said that once the company opens more shops in tourist destinations, it hoped that sales would grow in double digits every year.

 

The funds for the new shops will come from its internal cash flow and a loan from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank, she said.

Kanida, now 35, started her business eight years ago while studying for a master’s degree in business at Ramkhamhaeng University.

 

“I resigned from my job to study for a master’s degree, while working as a temporary teacher at a collage in Phatthalung at the same time. Then my younger brother became interested in selling Sangyod brown rice when he recognised that this variety of rice from Phatthalung was popular in the market,” she said.

 

She said that around 2010, after studying the market and the viability of this business for a year, she concluded that there was an oversupply of Sangyod brown rice in Phatthalung. 

 

Then the provincial office of the Commerce Ministry met with farmers and traders to discuss how to help farmers.

 

“I spent Bt6,000 to buy Sangyod brown rice from farmers and started to package the products for sale in modern trade. The rice products got positive feedback from the market but also faced problems when some of packages suffered quality problems,” Kanida said.

 

She said she learned how to solve this by using a vacuum packaging system, then did further research on developing the cultivation process, recruiting 135 farm families to grow the rice for her. As a final step, she developed ways to add value to the rice by processing it into snacks and crackers.

 

Three years ago, the Intellectual Property Department of the Commerce Ministry successfully registered Sangyod brown rice as a GI product of Phatthalung province. Five farmers won certification to produce germinated Sangyod brown rice, and last year Europe also granted GI status to the variety. As a result, the price of germinated Sangyod brown rice has doubled over the past three years, as the area where it grows is limited and demand has grown strongly.

 

Richy Rice Products now has 270 farmers supplying Sangyod and other varieties of rice, as the company guarantees them higher than market prices, especially for organic rice. It buys an average of 500 tonnes a year from farmers in Phatthalung and neighbouring provinces. 

 

The company distributes its products in modern trade and also exports them, especially to Malaysia, China and Singapore.

 

“Quality control is the key to our business growth, and we also grow together with our farmers. Our farmers [are able] to improve their quality of life and produce quality products to serve market demand,” Kanida said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30318960

 

 

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