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Discussion 1 : 27/10/2012 at 10:33 AM

blobber 35 - Good point, my mistake. I take back my previous post.

Discussion 2 : 26/10/2012 at 07:56 PM

D27@eric It is nice to know that you have importer friend who actually import a whole 0.000312% of Thai Jasmine rice. Will he still stick with it next year when it will be this years stock and a much poorer quality. Thailand prices used to mean a good quality and value for money. If you want to sell your product it should still be of good quality and value for money. Since this scheme came along the quality has fallen at the same speed as the price has risen.

Discussion 3 : 25/10/2012 at 09:36 PM

I was wrong, johninbkk can still try to spin lies about the true rice export numbers.

Discussion 4 : 25/10/2012 at 06:14 PM

Don't forget that Thailand is now also growing GMO (genetically modified) rice. One day, the exported rice will be analyzed and show this, and then Thailand will really have a problem, mainly because it is being grown in different areas even without the farmers knowing - government handouts with "Here are some free seeds." When it happens that Thai rice is rejected for being GMO, even 3rd place will seem like a dream goal.

Discussion 5 : 25/10/2012 at 06:04 PM

I wonder how Thailand's leader of the poor, suffering, downtrodden farmers, who are fighting for justice, democracy, blah, blah, blah, is celebrating Thailand's latest achievement of 3rd place. A dinner party with rice mill owners and exporters with Champagne, caviar, various imported delicacies, meats, etc. perhaps? A true Champion!

Discussion 6 : 25/10/2012 at 03:41 PM

Discussion 26. JohninBkk. The figures you refer to are from the wrong column. If you look at the major heading it says 2013 1/ then at the bottom it says that the 1/ refers to projections. So you are reporting projections and not actual figures.

Discussion 7 : 25/10/2012 at 03:39 PM

Discussion 26 JohninBkk. The column you are reading that from is the wrong column. if you it is under 2013 1/ If you look at the bottom it shows that the 1/ refers to projected. So the figures you refer to are projections and not real amounts.

Discussion 8 : 25/10/2012 at 01:55 PM

You cannot help poor people by throwing poorly planned, quick-fix subsidies in their faces. You have to build up their technical competence, diversify their economic activity and help them expand markets both domestically first, and abroad second. Give them a solid base, and the ability to take care of themselves - but then, wait, I guess they wouldn't need big brother to hold their hand anymore - so they keep them needy, hooked, and craving more.

Discussion 9 : 25/10/2012 at 01:16 PM

and how is the rice pleging scheme going to take advantage of a higher price if thailand is shipping less ? seems to me that rice buyers are now looking at the alternatives to thai rice and making informed decisions on what to buy time will tell if these people will return to buying thai rice

Discussion 10 : 25/10/2012 at 01:03 PM

2,600 tons a year this is quite an achievement D27; we need only about 2.885 more buyers with the same buying attitude and we are back to lead again. In reality many buyers (Countries) do not look for Jasmine rice which is more expensive they just need rice to feed their people and they will for sure look at the price too. By the way as already mentioned the quality of Thai rice is on the way down for different reasons and one is cheating.

Discussion 11 : 25/10/2012 at 12:43 PM

D26 JohninBKK - the USDA outlook report is based on figures supplied by the various governments. And we have all seen that the PTP doesn't mind spreading a few white lies when they think it may benefit the country. The veil of secrecy and total lack of transparency with the rice scheme creates serious doubt about anything the PTP claim (and I won't get into the constantly changing numerical figures they utter).

Discussion 12 : 25/10/2012 at 11:48 AM

Yesterday, my daughter bought a bag of rice from the SF store in South Sacramento. The bag indicated new crop AAA grade extra super quality with big bold letter "JASMINE RICE". Also printed in Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai languages and the picture of three elephants on the 20 lbs bag=8.07kg. After cooking, it test the same as Sacramento local rice. The extra money that we paid about 3 times of local rice isn't worth it. There is no jasmine aroma as it used to be. The quality of Jasmine rice is no longer there. I for one, will not buy it again. I am totally agree with drsmith's opinion disc#17.

Discussion 13 : 25/10/2012 at 11:26 AM

Not surprised are we?

Discussion 14 : 25/10/2012 at 10:10 AM

Many ways to cut the numbers - but Vietnam received roughly 40% more in payments for approximately 13% more rice. Correct? Seems like they are getting paid more per ton, right? What am I missing when the minister is saying that Thai rice is commanding a premium.

Discussion 15 : 25/10/2012 at 10:04 AM

Oldairman dis#12, really a matter of opinion as I have importer friends in Singapore who import 50 tons each week and will never buy Vietnam rice due to its poor quality. He is sticking with Thai Jasmine which is a superior quality although he does whine about the higher price. Thailand price has a good brand incumbency and should not be sold just to compete with the lower grade Vietnamese rice.

Discussion 16 : 25/10/2012 at 10:03 AM

According to the USDA Rice Outlook report, dated October 12, 2012, page 25, Thailand exported 8M tons, Vietnam exported 7M tons, and India exported 6.5M tons.

Discussion 17 : 25/10/2012 at 09:48 AM

The truly sad part is it is intentional .

Discussion 18 : 25/10/2012 at 09:47 AM

Thailand slips to number 3, who cares. D10, agree, the differences are insignificant. More importantly, the total collective volume entering the world market is increasing in the face of pundits predicting a global food crisis. Thailand, your brand of rice in global commodity trading no longer justifies a premium.

Discussion 19 : 25/10/2012 at 09:47 AM

"Thailand is number in terms of value which meant that our rice can command a premium in the market and our customers acknowledge this fact." - you clearly have no idea how free markets operate, the whole idea that thailand can somehow manipulate world market prices is seriously flawed; something which the international community has frowned upon from the inception of this scheme. but hey, look on the bright side - thailand has reclaimed another hub status, the hub of stored rice!

Discussion 20 : 25/10/2012 at 09:32 AM

@Eric, d.18. While I do not know if the numbers you mention are correct, your overall argument is. However, you fail to mentioned that most farmers are more or less self sustaining, producing their own food and/or selling their food to the other villagers without VAT. Furthermore they have a relatively low income, so the total amount of VAT each farmer pays each month is very small compared to say the average citizen of Bangkok who has a higher income, and therefore most likely buys more stuff, but also directly or indirectly pays VAT on almost everything he/she buys, as it has at one point or another been through Tesco or similar stores.

Discussion 21 : 25/10/2012 at 09:21 AM

Did anyone have a look at the numbers in the article? If the numbers are correct, then Vietnam, not Thailand, is getting the highest price for the rice, and the statements in the article therefore make no sense. Vietnam: $4.45 billion / 5.9 million tonnes = 754$/t Thailand: $3.50 billion / 5.2 million tonnes = 673$/t India: $2.99 billion / 5.6 million tonnes = 534$/t

Discussion 22 : 25/10/2012 at 09:11 AM

Sad but true, we need to accept the fact. The reds used our farmers to fight for democracy! Met thousands of them at various protests. A perfect case of how politicians can ruin an economy and then blame everyone else for the mess they so carefully and calculatedly created.

Discussion 23 : 25/10/2012 at 08:58 AM

Stop blowing your own trumpet the figures are a disaster.The share holders,us the public,want the facts not some faery tale please tell us, How much has been sold,it is not sold until the money is in the bank.We cannot live on promises. How much is there in stock and of what quality. how much of the stock is deteriorated in quality thus loosing money due to age. How much is it costing to store. How much profit can we expect from our investment. How much has been lost through corruption.

Discussion 24 : 25/10/2012 at 08:48 AM

Dickemery dis#14 this subject of tax payers carrying the burden often comes up. Let me quote you some figures. Only 17% of total tax revenue generate from your so call tax payer. More than half of about 34% comes from corporations. The rest is made up of added value tax, stamp duties etc. it's the larger part of the population which will include the farmers living outside Bangkok made up this larger tax paying portion.

Discussion 25 : 25/10/2012 at 08:40 AM

The rice pledging scheme is only designed to financially feed the former 111 and all the current PT politicians that the Shinawatra's owe political favors to. Have you been to Isaan lately? Do you see any rich rice farmers? The rice farmers are even poorer than they were before. The scheme only benefits the influential millers and politicians, not the farmers or the nation. When big government has to get so personally involved in rice farming and schemes, something is totally amiss. The current government never does anything that cannot make themselves rich at the expense of the working class and the nation.

Discussion 26 : 25/10/2012 at 08:38 AM

I told you so when this scheme started and TS said he had ways to correct if THai rice export is down.Who wants to pay more for the same quality of rice.THis is how the free market works Not only the price is higher but also the quality is down. I still buy Jusmine rice but I can tell it's not the same quality as a few years back.Corruption on the quality of rice will even chase away the buyers.

Discussion 27 : 25/10/2012 at 08:30 AM

D10 Eric - you can put the spin on the differences between 1st and 3rd to make it look rosy, but the real tell tale figure is two paragraphs later ... we will only export 7.5 million tons down from 10.6 ... that is a 30% drop in exports since the rice scheme was introduced. While a modicum of blame could be the Euro crisis, the bulk of the blame is the PTP's inability to sell their over priced stocks on the world market. I would be interested to see truthful financial information on farmers at year's end. Do they still carry as big of debt burden as before? Did their financial situation improve and income really increase this year?

Discussion 28 : 25/10/2012 at 08:18 AM

and its the 1-10 tax payer who takes the losses but of course the man from far away never pays his taxes,its a scam a bit like hedgedealing gambling on future prices,but this regime isnt authorise to use other people money,corruption breeds corruption as were all witnessing,a big step backwards

Discussion 29 : 25/10/2012 at 07:54 AM

I just hope that the situation is recoverable in the future, for the sake of the Farmers

Discussion 30 : 25/10/2012 at 07:54 AM

D10@eric The dirrerence in numbers may not mean much to you but I had the choice of buying 1 million tons of rice and saving $200 a ton by doing it I would.Thai rice IS no longer able to command a premium in the market and the dwindling number of customers are saying so. Thai rice cannot command a better price in the world anymore, perhaps at $20 or $30 a ton it would work but not $200 a ton that is why exports are down and no government spin can deny it. The other problem is with the price of rice so high ALL Thais are paying more as well.

Discussion 31 : 25/10/2012 at 07:40 AM

Thailand faces a tough challenge, I would like to see a more detailed action plan rather than explanations such as " country will continue to lead the market because India might experience a slowdown due to delivery problems while Vietnam is facing drought."

Discussion 32 : 25/10/2012 at 07:24 AM

The difference between the export numbers are really small, less than 1% which suprises me. I thought it will be more. However it's officially that Thailand is number in terms of value which meant that our rice can command a premium in the market and our customers acknowledge this fact. By year end, India will likely to drop their export as the severe drought will threaten their food security. Vietnam can be number one in terms of number but as long as our rice can command a better price in the market place, the policy has served its purpose.

Discussion 33 : 25/10/2012 at 07:23 AM

Well done, Thaksin! Keep up the good work! Please, though, try not to make Thailand slip down to 4th place. Certain people will not know where to "put their face" as the Thais say.

Discussion 34 : 25/10/2012 at 07:16 AM

Is this a sustainable scheme? Is this really help develop this industry? This project make profit to Laos and Cambodian rice too. What is the next business the big boss do? from iPhone application.

Discussion 35 : 25/10/2012 at 07:14 AM

Nothing new. India took the lead back in February but Thailand refused to admit it.

Discussion 36 : 25/10/2012 at 06:51 AM

It does not matter on what spot we are on. What does matter though is that we sell as much as we can,earning healthy profits for farmers, mills, and retailers. Without being a burden to the tax payer.

Discussion 37 : 25/10/2012 at 06:32 AM

musashi with his PTP spin on a situation that is not going to help anyone but politicians stuffing their pockets. "Profit is more important than revenue." Try telling that to McDonalds. Do you understand business? No revenue with high profit equals no profit. And perhaps now johninbkk will stop with his spin of saying there is no proof that Thailaand is not still #1. Well, there is proof now.

Discussion 38 : 25/10/2012 at 06:07 AM

Dilemma: you have a country who built it's growth and improved prosperity on being competitive and producing goods cheaply, now it wants to pay its workers/farmers more but falls foul of the time-honoured supply and demand model. Bet Vietnam and India are laughing all the way to the bank, the overpriced Thai rice has caused a shortage which has slightly pushed up the price the others can get. If Thailand was a Shinawatra business using Shinawatra money and profit, and the balance sheet was starting to look low on cash and high on stock you can bet they would be ditching this policy and laying off the farmers.

Discussion 39 : 25/10/2012 at 05:43 AM

Khun Musashi #1, the real question we should be asking ourselves is why we are driving our customers into the arms of our competitors? It is not nice to try to soak them with our artificial high price to begin with, especially, during the current global economic downturn. Also, the goal of any business is to maximize profit by commanding a lion share of the market, which is now slipping away from us. Unlike crude oil, demand for rice is very elastic, meaning that changes in price will translate into disproportionally larger changes in quantity either way. I hope you know what this means.

Discussion 40 : 25/10/2012 at 04:28 AM

It looks like the rice pledging scheme is working well.Wake up and smell the coffee.

Discussion 41 : 25/10/2012 at 04:25 AM

What's the point of selling a lot but selling them cheaply? It only means overworked, under paid rice sectors in India and Vietnam. Profit is more important than revenue. The Thai government is doing the right thing. Caveat: Rice is perishable, so I hope they sell them in time.