Business Times 1 May 08;
(BANGKOK) Thailand's prime minister said yesterday his country had agreed in principle to form a rice price-fixing cartel with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia as costs of the staple grain rocket.
The grouping of Mekong nations would be similar to the oil cartel Opec, and would be called the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (Orec).
'I have talked with Myanmar and invited them to join the rice exporting countries cartel, which will include Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, to fix the price,' Premier Samak Sundaravej told reporters.
He said Myanmar's Prime Minister General Thein Sein, in Thailand for an official visit, had agreed to join, even through the military-ruled nation was not currently a large rice exporter.
'Thailand will help them in terms of technical support to improve their production for export,' Mr Samak said.
Mr Samak said Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia had also agreed to join, and Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Orec should begin meeting soon.
Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter, and shipped an estimated 9.5 million tonnes of rice overseas last year.
World rice prices have soared this year, a trend blamed on higher energy and fertiliser costs, greater global demand, droughts, the loss of rice farmland to biofuel plantations, and price speculation.
International demand for Thai rice has soared after other top exporters Vietnam and India imposed limits on exports to ensure domestic supply.
Thailand has repeatedly insisted it will not limit exports, but on Tuesday the government announced it was releasing its stockpile of 2.1 million tonnes into the domestic market to keep prices stable.
The benchmark Thai variety, Pathumthani fragrant rice, was priced last Wednesday at US$998 per tonne for export, up from US$512 a tonne in January this year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said in a price survey. -- AFP
Thailand seeks Opec-style rice cartel with neighbours
Straits Times 3 Mar 08;
THE world's biggest rice exporter, Thailand, said yesterday it wants to form an Opec-style cartel with four South-east Asian neighbours so that together they have more control over international prices of the commodity.
Thai Commerce Minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan plans to talk with counterparts in Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam about forming a cartel to gain more influence over prices, a government spokesman said.
'Though we are the food centre of the world, we have had little influence on the price,' the spokesman said. 'With the oil price rising so much, we import expensive oil but sell rice very cheaply and that's unfair to us and hurts our trade balance.'
Laos Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalansy said yesterday the Laotian government would 'seriously consider' the idea of creating a cartel as it would give the five countries 'bargaining power'.
Cambodia, which has championed the rice cartel idea before, also welcomed the latest proposal and said it was a 'necessity' given the current global food crisis.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who brought up the idea of a grouping modelled after Opec - which sets oil prices - during his discussions in Bangkok on Wednesday with Myanmar's Prime Minister, Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, said Myanmar supported the idea.
Officials in Vietnam are studying the idea.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An Opec-style rice cartel?
Thailand wants to join neighbours to influence price of rice
Today Online 3 May 08;
BANGKOK —- Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, said on Friday that it wants to form an Opec-style cartel with four South-east Asian neighbours so that together they have more control over international prices of the commodity.
Thai Commerce Minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan plans to talk with his counterparts in Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam about forming a cartel to gain more influence over prices, said government spokesman Vichienchot Sukchokrat. The price of rice has more than tripled since January.
"Though we are the food centre of the world, we have had little influence on the price," Mr Vichienchot said. "With price of oil rising so much, we import expensive oil but sell rice very cheaply and that's unfair to us and hurts our trade balance."
In the Philippines, the world's top rice importer, Senator Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, said he feared the potential that a small group of producers could control a food staple.
Laos Foreign Ministry spokes-man Yong Chanthalansy however said his country would "seriously consider" the idea of creating a cartel because it would give the five countries "bargaining power".
Cambodia, which in the past has championed the rice cartel idea, also welcomed the latest proposal and said it was a "necessity" given the current global food crisis.
Mr Vichienchot, the Thai government spokesman, confirmed that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej brought up the idea of a grouping modeled after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
Mr Samak said on Wednesday that Myanmar supported the idea, while Vietnamese officials have said they are studying it and could possibly support it.
Mr Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said he was against the idea. He said it would have difficulty influencing markets because it would still exclude big producers like India and Pakistan. It would also be difficult to control the seasonal rice farmers. — AP
