Chinese rice deal takes effect
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A rice deal signed during Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's official visit has taken effect already with the Chinese private sector buying 260,000 tonnes of rice worth some Bt 7 billion from Thailand, helping relieve the domestic political and market p
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Premier Wen Wednesday witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the rice deal, which would help facilitate rice trade between the two countries.
The MoU was not a government to government contract on rice purchasing as widely understood, but an inter-governmental instrument to boost the rice trade, a senior official said.
The MoU indicates both sides will develop rice trading for the benefit of good relations and mutual benefit. Both parties will cooperate on the basis of transparency, justice and fairness between their rice-trading agencies.
The two governments will support the proper management of rice trading in accordance with market principles, according to the government document released after yesterday's Cabinet meeting.
Under the MoU, the Chinese government would support the Chinese private sector’s rice trading with Thailand, according to the Foreign Ministry’s East Asia Department Director General Damrong Kraikruan.
The rice deal with China was the most watched agenda item during Premier Wen’s visit, as the government was under political pressure after accusations from the opposition party and academics that its rice-price pledging policy damaged domestic market and had caused a decline in Thai rice trading.
