Govt aims to clear current 13m tonnes of stockpiled rice by mid-2017
The Commerce Ministry expects to clear the remaining 13 million tonnes of rice stockpiled in the government’s warehouses within the next 18 months.
This will partially be achieved by the targeted sale of least 2 million tonnes of rice through government-to-government (G2G) deals this year, mainly with China, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The government this year will focus on strategies to clear its rice stocks and create sustainable growth for rice production and marketing, Chutima Bunyapraphasara, permanent secretary of the ministry, said yesterday.
"The government expects to sell the remaining 13 million tonnes of rice from the stockpiles within a year and a half, with at least 2 million tonnes being sold through G2G contracts this year," she said.
This year, Thailand should be able to export at least 9 million tonnes of rice in total, against almost 10 million tonnes that were shipped in 2015, she added.
To facilitate more exports, Chutima said the government was currently considering providing soft loans for rice exporters that penetrate new markets – especially those in Africa – as they would face a high risk in diversifying sales to such areas.
Meanwhile, the ministry anno-unced it was proceeding with four key working strategies this year: a plan to develop rice production and marketing under a 20-year strategy for the sector; driving export and service business growth; reform of the ministry’s responsibilities as a trade facilitator; and adoption of technology and innovation in its work. She said that since trade was a key economic driver for the Kingdom, the ministry would focus on these four strategies to support sustainable long-term growth.
Meanwhile, the Thai National Shippers’ Council yesterday predicted that Thailand’s overall exports this year would return to positive growth, at 2 per cent, from a contraction of about 5.5 per cent in 2015. However, council chairman Nopporn Thepsithar said Thai shipments this year would not be as bright as the government expected because of many risk factors, mainly the economic slowdown in China and depreciation of the yuan, conflicts in many countries, and declining oil and crop prices.
To drive export growth, he said the private sector should work closely with the government in supporting export expansion.
He also called for the government to link trade strategies with the Kingdom’s 20-year development plan, so that all government agencies and private enterprises could adopt the plan and work at the highest possible efficiency to achieve the goals.
