SK seeks G2G deal on 1m tonnes of white rice
Play
South Korea has approached Thailand about buying 1 million tonnes of white rice on a government-to-government basis.
“We’re discussing the details,” Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said yesterday after the signing of an agreement between the Thai Rice Exporters’ Association and the Japan Sake Brewers’ Association.
The Korean deal should be wrapped up soon, he said.
The Japanese association is interested in importing more white and jasmine rice from Thailand. The current demand is 20,000 tonnes per year.
Thailand has urged Japan to raise its imports of Thai white and jasmine rice to the full quota of 250,000 tonnes per year from 140,000 tonnes last year.
The sake brewers asked Thailand to be stricter with the inspection of rice to ensure quality. Boonsong said he had ordered the Foreign Trade Department to look into the matter.
There are no negotiations between Thailand and Japan on a G2G rice purchase, since Japan consumes short-grain rice while Thailand produces long-grain rice.
Thai exports to Japan have been growing and the government recently raised its export target to Japan to 8 per cent from 5 per cent because of the rising purchasing power of Japanese consumers, he said.
