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NEWS |
March 4, 2010 India To Export 45,000 MT According to a recent statement released by the government of India, the government has allowed the export of 45,000 MT of non-basmati rice through two state-run agencies with immediate effect.
Feb 24, 2010 PM insists rice prices must be fair
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday the government would take into account investment cost, market price and quality of rice before accepting any bids from Monday's tender, the second attempt in two weeks to sell state rice stocks. The government on Monday offered 350,000 tonnes of 5% broken white rice and 150,000 tonnes of Pathum Thani fragrant rice as part of its accelerated plan to sell its massive stockpile of up to 5.6 million tonnes of milled rice bought from farmers to support prices in the previous season. The latest tender received bids from 11 companies to buy a total 815,529 tonnes: 659,454 tonnes of white rice and 156,074 tonnes for Pathum Thani worth a combined 12.44 billion baht. The bidding prices for white rice range from 11,765 to 15,550 baht per tonne, with Pathum Thani fragrant rice at 15,500 to 18,500 baht a tonne. The prices offered for white rice are much lower than in the previous bid last month, when they quoted 14,000 to 16,000 baht a tonne. Vichak Visetnoi, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said that authorities would attempt today to bargain with exporters for higher prices before submitting the outcome to Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai for acknowledgement, and to the national rice policy committee chaired by the premier for final approval. In related development, Mr Abhisit said that the cabinet yesterday directed the Commerce Ministry to investigate the release of information stating that the government would sell as many as 2 million tonnes of its rice stocks over the next few months, as such news would cause a price slump and affect the overall rice trading market. Source: Bangkok Post
Feb 19, 2010 Rice bid for 500,000 tonnes due Monday
Vichak Visetnoi, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the Commerce Ministry next Monday would offer 350,000 tonnes of 5% broken white rice and 150,000 tonnes of Pathum Thani fragrant rice to exporters. "The timing is right during the next two months to release stocks as key exporters such as Vietnam and Burma have slowed their shipments while demand remains strong," he said. Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said the ministry was also speeding auctions of 300,000 tonnes of milled rice with the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand. The government last year approved the sale of about 1 million tonnes of Hom Mali and 5% white rice through the futures market under a "basis auction" method in which AFET rice futures are used as the reference. The market has conducted auctions for state stocks totalling 700,000 tonnes. According to Mrs Porntiva, the National Rice Policy Committee recently directed the ministry to study a plan to sell another 1 million tonnes via the futures market this year. Mr Vichak said the government was likely to sell as many as 700,000 tonnes under a government-to-government programme this year. "There is a lot of demand for G-to-G rice deals now. Malaysia wants to buy about 100,000 tonnes, while Mauritius needs about 50,000 tonnes, Indonesia needs 100,000 tonnes, and the Philippines is preparing to open bids for 600,000 tonnes," he said. The government estimates it is holding around 5.6 million tonnes of milled rice bought from farmers to support prices in the previous season. Source: Bangkok post
Feb 15, 2010 Release of rice in small lots The Commerce Ministry is planning to release of 1 million to 3 million tonnes from its rice stockpiles in small lots over the next few months, when many of the Kingdom's farmers suspend planting in a bid to solve a brown-planthopper infestation. A senior source from the ministry yesterday said it would release small stocks to the market, as prices should be on the rise due to a lower supply of rice from the second-crop harvest. Besides open bidding, the government will also consider releasing the stockpiles by other means in order to ensure the market price is not adversely affected.These include using the futures market and government-to-government contracts. The source said the release of stockpiled rice via the latter method would not affect the market price, as it is a special instrument the government uses for favoured nations. The government has about 5 million tonnes of rice in its stockpiles. The ministry last month cancelled bidding for 370,000 tonnes as it foresaw prices rising. Source : The Nation
FEB 5, 2010 South America to import more rice: Experts Rice experts in the United States feel that rice purchases by Brazil, South America’s biggest grower, Venezuela and Colombia are most likely to jump this year after drought followed by heavy rains caused by El Nino curbed production. Source: Oryza
Feb 4, 2010 Indonesia Aims Production Target Of 75.7 Mil MT Indonesia's agriculture ministry has revealed that the country is targeting annual rice output growth of 3.22 % per year over the next five years to reach an output of 75.7 million MT of unmilled rice in 2014. Source: oryza.com
Feb 4, 2010 South America To Import More Rice: Experts Rice experts in the United States feel that rice purchases by Brazil, South America’s biggest grower, Venezuela and Colombia are most likely to jump this year after drought followed by heavy rains caused by El Nino curbed production. Source: oryza.com
Feb 3, 2010 Philippines: El Nino To Cut Crop Yields The government of Philippines has released a warning that a possible drought caused by the El Nino weather system is very likely to slash the country's rice yields this year. Source: oryza.com
Jan 26, 2010 Thailand Cancels Sale of 375,000 Tons of Rice From Stockpiles Thailand, the biggest rice exporter, canceled a plan to sell 375,000 metric tons from state reserves because of low offer prices, Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said today in Bangkok. The ministry received bids from 22 companies to buy 1.02 million tons, the Department of Foreign Trade said last week. The government had planned to sell 300,000 tons of white rice and 75,000 tons of glutinous rice. Source: Bloomberg.com
Jan 19, 2010 Govt to release its rice stock
Vichak Visetnoi, director-general of Foreign Trade Department, said yesterday that domestic supply for rice was declining because the harvest season was late this year. The total crop produced was 21.2 million tonnes of paddy rice, of which 92.28 per cent has entered the market. "There is a high demand now because both importing and exporting countries have suffered natural disasters," Vichak said. Bidders are required to have 2 per cent collateral of their bid value. Winners are required to sign a contract with the department within 10 days after the bidding results are announced, and need to start exporting their stocks within 45 days. The freight on board (FOB) price of jasmine rice is quoted at US$1,119 (Bt36,764) per tonne, increased from $1,116 per tonne on January 6. In addition, 100-per-cent rice is quoted $609, 5-per-cent rice is priced $577, while 10-per-cent sticky rice goes for $779 per tonne. Only 25-per-cent rice dropped from $508 to $505 per tonne. Source: The Nation
Jan 19, 2010 Govt to get tough on off-season rice crops; Dams fall, raising fear of water shortages.
The government wants to limit the amount of rice being grown because of the fear of a looming water crisis. Irrigation Department chief Chalit Damrongsak said at the weekend irrigation offices had been told to step up their efforts to dissuade farmers from planting a third crop this year. Many farmers were planting one crop after the other without giving their land the time necessary to recover. Mr Chalit said his department would support irrigation offices that come up with their own initiatives to discourage over-planting. One method adopted was the 12th Irrigation Office's helicopter drop of 500,000 leaflets warning farmers of the likelihood of a water shortage. The office also gave out a gold award worth about 40,000 baht to the farmer who held the leaflet with the same number as the government's winning lottery number. The award was an incentive to farmers to look carefully at the leaflets. "If the water shortage becomes even worse, the department might have to ban off-season rice farming," Mr Chalit said. The irrigation chief said water levels in dams and natural sources had fallen sharply. The level in natural water sources was lower than usual this year because only one storm had passed over the country. The situation is especially worrying in the Chao Phraya River basin, where the water level has fallen markedly. This is because the demand for water has soared in recent years following the increase in rice planting as a result of higher prices. High prices have convinced farmers to plant a second crop soon after harvesting the first crop, Mr Chalit said. A second crop is expected to be planted on an estimated 12 million rai this year, but the department only has plans to supply water for 9 million rai. Mr Chalit said farmers in the central provinces were now planting whenever they wanted, not just during the rainy season. The shortage of rainwater had seen the water levels in large dams such as Bhumibol and Sirikit to fall to about 70% of capacity. In other smaller dams, the levels have fallen to 50% to 60% of capacity. Drought is affecting about 30 provinces in the lower North and Northeast. The Irrigation Department will implement measures to limit water consumption between now and July so there are enough supplies to last the dry season Source: Bangkok Post
Jan 15, 2010 Drought hits rice harvests in Thailand, Philippines EL NIÑO threatens to parch rice crops in the Philippines, the world’s biggest importer, and in Thailand, the largest exporter, according to officials in both countries. “Between 20 and 30 percent of the areas planted to rice in provinces hit by El Niño are at risk of damage due to the dry spell,” Agriculture Undersecretary Emmanuel Paras said. “That’s why we’re planning measures to counter the effects,” including spending P2 billion.’’ Thailand’s rice output might drop 15 percent to as low as 27 million metric tons in the year that began Oct. 1, from 31.65 million tons a year earlier, Apichart Jongskul, secretary general of the Office, said in Bangkok Thursday. Lower output in Thailand may limit its capacity to boost shipments to meet additional purchases from importing countries including the Philippines, helping support global prices. Rice futures rose to a record in April 2008 in Chicago, and the Asian benchmark export price reached its highest level a month later as the Philippines boosted imports and exporters including India and Vietnam curbed shipments, adding to concerns of food shortages that sparked protests from Haiti to Egypt. While the US Department of Agriculture increased its estimate for this year’s global rice stockpiles, the extra supply was seen coming from India and China, which it did not forecast to increase exports. “Unfortunately, most of these additional stocks, with the exception of Thailand, will not be available to the market in case prices start to rise,” an economist in Manila said. Source: Bloomberg.com
Jan 7, 2010 Thailand sets rice export target of 9 million tons for 2010
Source: TANN
December 16, 2009 Guarantee price for PathumThani rice slammed Thai rice exporters have spoken out against the government's decision to increase the guaranteed price for Pathum Thani fragrant rice by Bt1,000 a tonne next year, as it will send the wrong signal to farmers to grow more of the strain at the expense of highvalue Hom Mali rice. Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, yesterday expressed concern that farmers would grow more Pathum Thani rice than Hom Mali due to higher returns under the guarantee scheme. "Thai Hom Mali has faced problems over export quality as some importers have comฌbined Hom Mali, which is the highest premium grade of fragrant rice, with Pathum Thani rice, which is of lower quality. Farmers may shift to growing more Pathum Thani as they can get higher yields and better returns," said Chookiat. The National Rice Policy Committee on Monday agreed to continue its incomeguarantee scheme for next year's crop by increasing the guarantee price from Bt10,000 a tonne to Bt11,000 for Pathum Thani rice. The committee also agreed to increase the maximum volume of Pathum Thani rice for farmers participating in the guarantee project next year from 25 tonnes to 30 tonnes. Other rice prices remain unchanged from this year's guarantee project: Bt10,000 a tonne for white rice, Bt9,500 for sticky rice and Bt14,300 for provincial fragrant rice. Yanyong Phuangrach, permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said the committee on Monday had also ordered the Foreign Trade Department to consider trading opportunities for rice in the governฌment's stockpiles through governmentto government contracts, the Agriculture Futures Exchange of Thailand and general bidding. Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu has also ordered the ministry to stimulate exports next year by giving incentives to exporters, he said. The ministry yesterday reported the govฌernment's reference prices for rice for December 1631: Bt10,212 a tonne for 5percent white rice, Bt12,072 for Pathum Thani rice, Bt11,533 for sticky rice, Bt14,895 a tonne for jasmine rice. The guarantee price for Hom Mali rice is quoted at Bt15,300 a tonne. Source: The Nation
Dec 8, 2009 Govt to help by delaying release of stockpiles The government will delay the release of its farm stockpiles to allow farmers to sell their product first, a decision that will likely prove expensive given the government's Bt342-million monthly stockpiling bill. The government currently has on its hands 6 million tonnes of stockpiled rice; 1.76 million tonnes of tapioca chips; 407,426 tonnes of tapioca flour; and 348,000 tonnes of maize. Under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's administration, the government has held farm stockpiles for six months. The government has said it will take steps to ensure that farmers are not adversely affected by release of its stockpiles. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said the government would select appropriate periods in which to release farm stockpiles, and that selling prices should be in accordance with the market price. "Whenever the government releases a stockpile in a big lot, traders stop purchasing from farmers. It lowers prices," Korbsak said. The Commerce Ministry recently negotiated the sale of some maize and tapioca stockpiles, but Korbsak refused to approve the deals, saying the selling price should have been higher given the high demand for the goods. According to the Commerce Ministry, it is costing the government Bt342 million a month to stockpile rice, tapioca and maize. It costs Bt216 million a month to stockpile rice, most of this going towards renting warehouses at a price of Bt36 per tonne. Stockpiling maize costs Bt26 million a month (Bt60/tonne for warehousing and Bt15/tonne for fumigation). It costs Bt90 million monthly to stockpile tapioca: Bt80 million for tapioca chips and Bt10 million for tapioca flour. A source at the ministry said the government must consider carefully whether its policy to stock farm goods is worth the cost. "[The stockpiled] farm goods are deteriorating in quality daily. If the government holds its stockpiles too long, it must shoulder high storage expenses each month even as the goods deteriorate to the point where they cannot be sold," said the source. However, Korbsak said the government may have no choice but to continue shouldering the costs, as the government's aim is to ensure high prices for farmers. Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the system had caused a slowdown in the country's rice-trading system. "The rice price would increase dramatically if the government released its stockpiles, as importers have delayed placing rice orders in expectation that the government will have to release its stockpiles someday," said Chookiat. He called on the government to release some of its stockpiles via the futures market, government-to-government projects, and direct sales to exporters. However, stock releases should be done in small lots to minimise any impact on the market, Chookiat cautioned. Source: The Nation
Dec 3, 2009 Commerce Min keeps watch on situations in Dubai, Vietnam The permanent secretary for commerce affirms devaluation of the Vietnamese currency will not hurt Thai rice export as Vietnam's output scale is not as large as Thailand's. He also pledges to keep a close watch on the Dubai World crisis fallout. Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Puangrach admitted the debt crisis facing Dubai World must be kept under a close watch for its effects on Thailand's economic situation. Yanyong noted the Dubai World fallout will have a slight impact on the export sector. He expected oil price could slide down over possible increase in Dubai's oil output He also said the devaluation of the Vietnamese currency may draw investments from Thailand and have negative impact on several export businesses, such as clothing, apparel, footwear and computers. Yanyong, however, believes the Vietnamese dong's devaluation will post no big threat to Thailand's rice export as the supply from Vietnam is still not sufficient to compete with Thailand's. Meanwhile, Kasikorn Research Center forecasts the country's rice export in 2010 will enjoy a significant growth as world rice output would decline due to climate change while India and the Philippines need to import more rice as they are still reeling under the effects of recent natural disasters. The center expects the quantity of the 2010's rice export can reach as high as 10 million tons, a level achieved in 2008, or more. However, the forecast is made on the assumption that the government and exporters can successfully penetrate into new markets. In addition, the world price of rice is also expected to increase in line with global economic conditions. Source: TANN |
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