Thailand Increases 2017 Rice Export Goal to 10 Million T: Exporter Body

  • Thailand Increases 2017 Rice Export Goal to 10 Million T: Exporter Bodyi
    Bangkok. Thailand's rice exporters expected the export volume of the grain to reach 10 million tonnes this year, higher than an earlier target of 9.5 million tonnes. The world's second biggest rice exporter after India, exported 9.63 million tonnes of rice in 2016, according to figures from the Commerce Ministry, which also targets exports of 10 million tonnes this year. Thailand has exported 5 million tonnes of rice so far this year, the ministry has said.
    Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, told Reuters the goal was raised due to strong demand from Bangladesh and the Philippines. "Demand for Thai rice still looks strong in the second half of the year," Chookiat said, adding that Thailand should be able to ship out 850,000 tonnes of rice per month. Thailand expects to sell 200,000 tonnes of parboiled rice to Bangladesh when its delegation comes to negotiate next month, Chookiat said. Bangladesh has emerged as a major importer of the staple grain this year as it grapples with depleted stocks and record local prices following flash floods. The Philippines also said it would issue a tender to import 250,000 tonnes of rice from private traders, including Thailand, ahead of the lean harvest season and the typhoon months. Export prices for Thai rice have been rising steadily since March, when traders started loading ships and supply started dwindling ahead of an off-season harvest expected around August. Quotes for benchmark 5 percent broken rice stood at $450-$460 a tonne, FOB Bangkok, last Thursday, touching levels unseen since August 2013. In comparison, Vietnam, Thailand's main competitor, was trading its rice of the same grade at $400-$420 a tonne. India's 5 percent broken parboiled rice was quoted at $424-$427 per tonne. But the price gap was no cause for concern, as Thai rice has a higher quality, Chookiat said. "When the economy is good, people like to buy higher quality rice, unlike in the past few years," Chookiat said. According to the government's latest figures, Thailand still holds about 800,000 tonnes of "old rice" left over from the previous government's rice-buying scheme, which it can export to African countries. Demand is also returning from the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, Chookiat said. Iran has recently bought 200,000 tonnes of Thai rice but is expected to buy more, he said. Regular buyers of Thai rice in Asia include China, Malaysia, and Japan. "As long as our price stands at around $450 per tonne, we're okay," he said. Reuters

    • Asia Rice-Strong demand helps prices extend gains

  • * Prices rise in Thailand, India, Vietnam * Bangladesh seals import deal with Vietnam By My Pham VIETNAM, June 15 Asian rice prices rose this week, extending gains from the week before on strong demand from importers including Bangladesh and the Philippines, traders said on Thursday. In Thailand, benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 was quoted at $450-$457 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok, up from $440-$457 last week. Thai rice prices have been rising steadily since March, when traders started loading ships, and touched levels unseen since August 2013 last week. Exporters continue to buy the grain from rice millers to fulfill shipments, with demand from Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq and the Philippines keeping prices high, traders said. "Prices are still rising and haven't stopped," a Bangkok-based trader said. "Supply is low and exporters are still buying stocks for shipment, and global demand is still high." The Thai off-season crop is expected to arrive from around August to September. In Vietnam, the 5-percent broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 was quoted at $410 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $395-$400 last week and the highest level since November 2014. Vietnam's new harvest season begins late-June, traders said. Rice prices in the country have increased since early May on expectation of stronger demand from foreign rice importers amid limited supply. Bangladesh will import 200,000 tonnes of white rice at $430 a tonne, and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at $470 a tonne from Vietnam in a government-to-government deal, said Ataur Rahman, additional secretary at the food ministry. The rice will be shipped in 60 days, with the first consignment expected to arrive in 15 days, Rahman said.

    rates are sharply higher than what it is paying for through tenders. Bangladesh is buying 50,000 tonnes of white rice at $406.48 a tonne and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at $427.85 a tonnes through tenders.

    Bangladesh is also in talks with Thailand and India to import rice to cool record-high local prices at a time when state rice stocks are at 10-year lows. The Philippines has said it would issue a tender next month to import 250,000 tonnes of the grain from Thailand and Vietnam, and possibly also India. In India, 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices RI-INBKN5-P1 jumped by $7.00 per tonne to $422-$425 on a rally in overseas prices and good demand from buyers in Africa. "Earlier, buyers were shifting to other suppliers as Indian rice was expensive. Now, since prices have risen in Thailand and Vietnam, we are equally competitive," said an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. India's non-basmati rice exports in April fell 18.5 percent from a year ago to 475,050 tonnes due to a stronger rupee. "We have to raise prices considering (the) rising rupee and tight supplies of paddy rice," said another exporter based in Kakinada. The rupee has risen 5.7 percent so far in 2017 and is trading near its highest level in 21 months. A strong rupee trims returns for exporters. (Reporting by My Pham in HANOI, Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK, Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI, and Ruma Paul in DHAKA; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)

    • Concerns over rice stockpile release by Thailand

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    PHNOM  PENH, BANGKOK (Khmer Times/Bangkok Post) – Cambodian rice millers and exporters are strongly concerned that Thailand’s plan to release 4.32 million tonnes of state rice stocks by September, driven by a sharp surge in global rice demand, could depress prices of the vital grain on commodity markets. “When Thailand sells such a large part of its stockpile on the open market it will have a knock-on effect on prices and in turn also affect the price of Cambodian milled rice exports,” Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, told Khmer Times. Mr Lak said that Cambodia, unlike Thailand, lacked large warehouses to store rice paddy and release the grain when market prices were high. “The longest time we can keep our stocks is three to four months and after that it gets spoilt,” he added. Thailand is the world’s second-biggest rice exporter after India and still has stocks of about 5 million tonnes left over from a rice-buying scheme under the previous government that paid farmers well above market rates. The current military government has been trying to sell off stockpiles from the scheme through several state auctions since it took power in 2014. It has so far sold 12.74 million tonnes, worth 114 billion baht ($3.31 billion), the Thai Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. It said it will be able to offload the remaining rice by the end of the year. Bangladesh wants to buy around 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of 5-percent white rice immediately for humanitarian relief efforts in the wake of Cyclone Mora that has inundated most of the country. It plans to increase rice imports to 500,000 tonnes by the end of the year and is looking at Thailand and Vietnam to meet its emergency needs. Rice demand is similarly expected to go up in the humanitarian response in Sri Lanka, which is also reeling from the aftermath of Cyclone Mora that triggered floods and landslides. Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice (Cambodia), said Thailand could afford to sell its rice stockpile when prices were high because rice farmers were given subsidies by the government to cover their production costs. “Production costs in Cambodia are high because we are growing good quality rice,” Mr Saran said. Because of this, he said, Cambodia’s rice exports find it hard to compete in the commodities market. But not all of Thailand’s 4.32 million tonnes of state rice stocks are of good quality. About 2.5 million tonnes are mostly low-quality and decaying rice fit only for industrial use. Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said Thailand’s good-quality rice stocks in the state stockpile are about to be depleted. Because of this, Amru Rice’s Mr Saran is urging the Cambodia Rice Federation to find more markets for kingdom’s high quality jasmine rice exports. “Since our production costs are high and we should consider finding other markets which Thailand does not reach so that we can maintain our rice quality and get premium prices for it,” he added.  Cambodia’s milled rice exports were close to 170,000 tonnes in the first three months of this year, an increase of three percent over the same period last year, official figures showed. The rise came after exports in March fell by 16 percent and exports in January and February rose 10 percent and 17 percent respectively. China is the biggest single-country market for Cambodia’s milled rice, and imported about 67,000 tonnes in the three months. France and Poland ranked second and third in Cambodia’s milled rice markets, importing 21,000 and 12,000 tonnes respectively.

    • PRICE OF THAI RICE REACHES 425 US DOLLARS PER TON ON GLOBAL MARKET

  • PNECO600530001001101.jpg BANGKOK, 31 May 2017 (NNT) - The Thai Rice Exporters Association has revealed that the price of Thai rice has reached 425 US dollars per ton, due its believed to the decreasing supply of rice on the global market  Honorary President of Thai Rice Export Association, Chukiat Opaswong said today prices of rice worldwide have been increasing as global rice supplies are declining. Thailand has been able to raise the price from 365 dollars to 425 dollars per ton over the past two months.  Even though Vietnamese rice is sold at a price 45 dollars cheaper, demand for Thai rice continues to grow especially in Iraq, Iran and African countries.  Chief Executive Officer of the Rice Trader Ltd Jeremy Swinger expressed his belief that the price of Thai rice would not decline because of the stable demand. The price is even likely to go up by another 20 dollars in the next three months.  Despite the growing demand, Thai rice exports to Hong Kong have declined. Kenneth Chan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rice Merchants Association, has suggested Thailand do more to promote Jasmine rice among Chinese consumers because Jasmine rice is generally more popular than other strains.

    • Prayut demands clear-out of rice stockpiles before end of his regime

  • 5/30/2017 The Nation (Thailand)

    PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Commerce Ministry to accelerate sales of the rice in its stockpiles within the term of his military-led regime, as storage costs have been exceeding Bt1 billion a month. Speaking yesterday at the Thailand Rice Convention in Bangkok, an international event aimed at knowledge exchange and discussions on developing the rice industry, Prayut stressed the need to sell off the entire rice stockpile, which had been putting pressure of Thai rice prices for two to three years. To date, the Commerce Ministry has sold about 13 million tonnes of the 18 million tonnes of rice it had in stock, worth more than Bt100 billion. Prayut partially blamed corruption for the low revenues earned from sales of rice rather than the costs entailed by the last elected governments rice-pledging programme, while legal cases arising from that programme drag on in several courts. The other reason the government must expedite sales of the rice remaining in its warehouses is that its existence has severely distorted the normal rice trade mechanism. Having rice in storage has cost the government more than Bt1 billion per month. The key target is to release rice in stock within this governments term so that it will not have to shoulder this burden further and the [rice] market mechanism will return to normal, Prayut said. The next target is to add value to Thai rice and make Thailand the leader in rice trade with internationally recognised innovative rice products and an efficient rice-market mechanism, he said. A strategic plan for the rice industry is conclude in the Prayut regimes 20-year national strategy. It includes production restructuring, reduction of rice-farming areas, a balance between production for local consumption and for export, and making farmers more self-sufficient for sustainability. Clustering of community enterprises for rice innovation is also encouraged in line with the regimes Thailand 4.0 policy, and the next step is to push for concrete plans. On the regional front, Prayut said Thailand was trying to connect its plans for the rice market with those of neighbouring countries particularly Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), given their proximity in culture and lifestyle. Collaboration will yield more benefits than competition, and this collaboration must embrace the whole system extending from the public to private and business sectors, he said. CLMV pays high attention on a transformation from rice grown for sales to rice with innovation for higher rice prices, while changing farming crops suitable for land. Prayut said farmers should change their mindsets to see opportunities in consumer trends. Outstanding products such as bakery materials, cosmetics and skincare products must be developed to serve the mass market. If this strategy is successful, Thailand will become the leader in the rice market as targeted and, under the 20-year national strategy, drive itself out of the middle-income trap, he said. In regard to Thailands G2G with China, no progress has been made yet, Prayut said, adding the problem arose in difficulties in negotiation in other matters an that affected the rice trade negotiation. Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said development of the rice industry would focus on linking research and innovation with commercial products, both food and non-food. Rice prices have been rising after her ministry expedited the sale of stockpiled rice and there is about 2 million tonnes left, she said. The Thailand Rice Convention brought together representatives of the public and private sectors from more than 40 countries including China, Japan, Malaysia, Iran and South Africa. During the event, the government met with Iraqs trade minister on opportunities for export of Thai rice to that country. It also met with Vietnams deputy minister of industry and trade to discuss bilateral cooperation. The convention was also a venue for business matching between Thai exporters of rice and rice products and importers. Today, foreign representatives were to visit the Royal Chitralada Project involving the processing of Thai rice into innovative products. The Thailand Rice Convention, which began on Sunday and ends today, aims to promote Thailand as the worlds rice-trade centre and showcase Thai rice innovation. It is hosted by the Commerce Ministrys Department of Foreign Trade in cooperation with other organisations in both the public and private sectors. Highlights of the convention include the multidimensional facets of innovation within Thailands rice industry. The Thailand Rice Convention 2017 comes under the theme Rice Plus, as it aims at showcasing Thailands potential in the global arena for quality rice trade and production, Apiradi said. Various innovative rice products are presented, showing how far the Thai rice industry has advanced in its technological development and technological integration. Reaping the benefits of the technological revolution, all parties in the industry have benefited from tremendous value addition to rice. This corresponds with the governments Thailand 4.0 economic model striving to transform the Thai economy into a value-based economy.  

    • TRC 2017 showcases Thailand’s potential in global arena for quality rice trade and production

  • “Thailand Rice Convention 2017” (TRC 2017) – a premier international forum for rice – is currently being held by the Foreign Trade Department of the Commerce Ministry, in collaboration with related organisations from both the public and private sectors.

    Highlights of the convention include the multi-dimensional facets of innovation of Thailand’s rice industry. Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the event, which ends on Tuesday, was being held under the theme “Rice Plus” as it was aimed at showcasing Thailand’s potential in the global arena for quality rice trade and production.  Various innovative rice products are being presented, showing how far the Thai rice industry has advanced in its technological development and technological integration. 
    Reaping the benefits of the technological revolution, all parties in the industry have benefited from tremendous value addition to rice, which corresponds with the government’s “Thailand 4.0” economic model striving to transform the Thai economy into a value-based economy, she said.
    On Monday, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha chaired the opening ceremony of TRC 2017 and delivered a keynote speech on “Thai Rice Trade and Its Future”, outlining government policies towards the sustainable development of the Thai rice industry.  The convention welcomes more than 1,000 participants from over 40 nations, including producers, importers and product developers, as well as delegates from major trading partners, namely China, Japan, Malaysia, Iraq, Iran, Spain, the UK, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.  Also attending the event are experts and academics, farmers, and media agencies.  On this occasion, the Iraqi minister of planning and acting minister of trade, Salman Ali Hasan Al-Jumaili, and his delegation comprising executives of the Grain Board – the Iraqi government’s official body responsible for rice imports – held an important meeting with Apiradi to jointly discuss opportunities for future rice trade and bilateral cooperation.  Similar discussions were held between the Thai minister and Tran QuocKhanh, Iraq’s deputy minister of industry and trade. On Tuesday, international delegates will participate in post-conference field trips to sites related to rice and rice innovation, including the Royal Chitralada Project, which is considered Thailand’s first pioneering laboratory for rice development.  Since its establishment, extensive researches have been carried out at the project to study rice cultivation, milling, the pros and cons of different types of rice barns, and the breeding of new rice varieties.  Alternatively, participants can choose to visit Choheng Factory, a long-established producer of rice products such as glutinous rice flour, rice vermicelli, and rice noodles; or Pathawin Company – a respected producer and supplier of cosmetics to consumers both in Thailand and abroad.

    • Thailand to clear government stock rice for sales

  • BANGKOK, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Thai government will clear all of the rice stockpile, some 5 million tons to increase rice prices for the long term, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday. Delivering a speech during Thailand Rice Convention 2017, Prayut said some 13 million of a total 18 million tons of rice in government stock has been released to the markets, securing some 112 billion baht (3.29 billion U.S. dollars) in sales over the last two to three years. The Thai government, according to the prime minister, has had to bear the storage cost of more than 1 billion (29 million dollars) per month. "We will clear all of the remaining stock in this administration in order to increase rice prices for the long term," Prayut said, adding they have made a five-year rice strategy plan to improve the quality of Thai rice. He said large volumes of the rice have been traded in government-to-government dealings with major buying countries such as China, Iran, Iraq, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. "Now we export 10 million tons of rice and earn some 150 billion baht (4.41 billion dollars) yearly as more than 4 million families in the country are growing rice," Prayut said. Meanwhile, he reiterated that farmers have been strongly suggested to do large-scale rice farming in order to reduce producing costs, raise bargaining powers in dealing with traders and secure an increased price in their own favor.

    • Thailand to open second rice auction in 2017

  • Illustrative image (Source: AFP/VNA)
     Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s government has announced a plan to organise the second rice auction in 2017 with a total volume of up to 1.82 million tonnes. Interested buyers could examine the rice’s quality before bidding on May 24. The result of the auction is scheduled to be announced in the first week of June. The auction is expected to attract many businesses as it is the final batch of rice put for sale this year, said Duangporn Rodphaya, Director General of the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Foreign Trade.   To date, the Thai government has stocked 4.82 million tonnes of rice, much lower than the volume of 18.7 million tonnes between 2011-2014. A total of 11.7 million tonnes of rice was sold by auction for 112 billion THB from May 2014 to mid April 2017. In the first five months of this year, Thailand exported 4.1 million tonnes of rice, up 9 percent, earning 1.74 billion USD, up 6 percent against last year.-VNA

    • Asia Rice: Thai, Vietnam Prices Hit Multi-Month High; India Stays Sluggish

  • Bangkok/Hanoi. Rice prices hit multi-month peak in Thailand and Vietnam this week on export prospects, while high rates in India kept buyers at bay, traders said on Thursday (18/05). Thai benchmark 5-percent broken rice rose this week to $385-$411 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok, from $387-$392 last week. At a mean of $398 per tonne, Thai rice prices hit their highest in nine months, Reuters data showed. Traders said as Thai exporters are still buying stocks to fill shipments, heightened expectations of more demand from some of the world's top importers also helped prices to surge.
    Last week, Bangladesh's state grains buyer said they will import 600,000 tonnes of rice. It has already issued two tenders for a total of 100,000 tonnes of rice. "Exporters continue to sell, ships are still being loaded, and big buyers are now coming in," said a Bangkok-based trader. "If buyers keep purchasing, prices will keep increasing," said another trader from Bangkok. Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice was quoted at $365-370 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $355-$360 last week, following the trend in Thailand. Averaging $367.50 per tonne, Vietnamese rice prices are at an 11-month high, according to Reuters data. Anticipating more demand from leading importing countries, Vietnam traders are storing rice in order to sell later as prices advance. "People expect demand to jump further so they are not rushing to sell now," said a Ho Chi Minh-based trader. Vietnam shipped an estimated 1.84 million tonnes of the grain between January and April, down 8.8 percent from the same period last year. Thailand and Vietnam are the world's second- and third-biggest rice exporters. In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice prices eased by $3 per tonne to $391-$396 a tonne this week on sluggish export demand. In the past two months, there has been a sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as appreciation in the rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices. The rupee has risen more than 5 percent so far this year and is trading near its highest level in 21 months. A strong rupee trims returns of exporters, who cannot afford to cut prices. "African buyers are shifting to Vietnam. Indian rice is not competitive at the current price level," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. India mainly exports non-basmati rice to African countries and premier basmati rice to the Middle East. The Indian government buys rice from local farmers at a fixed price to supply subsidized food and meet any emergency needs such as a sudden spike in prices. The government has bought 36 million tonnes rice from farmers so far in 2016/17, up 24 percent from a year ago. Reuters

    • Next auction for state-held rice called

  • Decaying rice in storage at a warehouse in Nakhon Pathom. APICHART JINAKUL The government yesterday called the second auction for 1.82 million tonnes of state-held rice that is fit for human consumption. The grains put up for the second auction are mixed grade in quality and... More at:Next auction for state-held rice called Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1250250/next-auction-for-state-held-rice-called. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved.  

    • Thai king presides over annual royal rice plowing ceremony

  • BANGKOK (AP) " Thailand's king has presided over an annual royal ceremony that marks the start of the rice-planting season. The ceremony was held Friday in Bangkok on a royal field in front of the Grand Palace. King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun (ma-ha 'WAH-chi-ra-long-gon 'BOH-din-ta-ra-teb-pa-ya-wah-rang-goon) sat with daughter at his side as two oxen plowed a furrow and an official scattered rice seeds in the oxen's wake. According to Thai historical accounts, the Royal Plowing Ceremony dates back around 700 years. Thailand is one of the world's leading producers of the crop, putting out around 30 million tons per year. It is the second largest exporter of rice, behind India.

    • Thailand: Thailand exports 3.4 million tons of rice in four months

  • 4/25/2017 

    Thai News ServiceThe Department of Foreign Trade said Thailand has so far this year exported 3.4 million tons of rice, up 6.4%. Director-general of the department Mrs Duangporn Rodphaya said the rice export as of mid this month stood at 51 billion baht in value. With the increase of rice export as compared with same period, she was confident that the country's rice export will reach the target of 10 million tons by the end of the year. She added that the government is releasing 17.7 million tons of rice from its stockpiles as quickly as possible. She expects more than 150 billion baht to be generated from the release. She stressed the need to release rice in stocks despite facing losses, in order to reduce expenses, costing 17 million baht per day. - Thai PBS

    • Thailand to cut rice output

  • World food security a global problem famine at africa children need to help poor people need food to live kid hand with sheaf of paddy on Asia rice field
    Thailand plans to produce about 25 million tonnes of rice in the 2016-2017 crop instead of the normal production output of between 31-32 million tonnes in the last periods, according to the latest report released by the country’s Ministry of Commerce. The decision to cut output is prompted by a huge rice inventory and severe droughts in the country, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. Commerce permanent secretary Chutima Boonyaprapat said that the private and farming sectors had been invited to join the government in working out an integrated rice production and market plan for the 2016-17 crop. Chutima said the plan was agreed by the three parties that the yield for the 2016-17 crop years would be capped at 25 million tonnes. Thailand, one of the world’s leading rice exporters, is striving to unleash its huge rice inventory of 13 million tonnes. In 2014, Thai rice production exceeded local demand by 50%. Restoring the balance on the rice market and raising farmers’ income are now key items on the Thai government’s agenda.