Rice association offers Bt20m in case of fatality
THE Thai Rice Packers Association is launching a campaign to boost consumer confidence in the safety of Thai rice by offering Bt20-million compensation if anyone had lost their life as a result of having consumed toxic Thai rice.
At yesterday’s conference, Somkiat Makcayathorn, chairman of the association, said members vowed that their rice is safe from any toxic content.
“The association has decided to offer Bt20 million compensation if any consumer had lost their life after consuming Thai rice or there was any toxic problem. The association has full confidence in the quality of Thai rice and vouches for its safety. There is no substance or additive that could harm consumers’ health,” stated Somkiat.
The association comprises 128 companies that own about 800 rice pack brands. They have a combined market share of up to 95 per cent of the total trading value of rice packs in the Thai market.
Random checks
The association has also allocated Bt5 million for random inspection of rice quality every month. It will emphasise on checking if the fumigant substance methyl bromide was used on the rice. Thailand will stop using this substance by the end of 2014 as it harms the environment.
Somkiat added that since the discovery of the substance on Thai rice and rumours of their being unsafe, sales of Thai rice packs had been impacted. For instance, rice purchases fell from 3-4 packs per time of purchasing to 1-2 packs.
Despite the recent negative publicity, the association is confident that with its strong campaign rice-pack sales will increase by 5 per cent to Bt30 billion this year.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry has set up a plan to boost exports of halal foods to US$10 billion by 2014, accounting for 10 per cent of the total food export value, up from 4.3 per cent at present.
After a meeting with the Centre of Deep-South provinces management, Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikua said the ministry is also targeting increased halal food sales in the South.
The ministry will integrate the halal food-supply chain and promote the setting up of halal food-franchise businesses to trade both in the local and overseas markets.
The ministry will also cooperate with other government agencies to allocate areas for selling halal foods such as at airports, bus terminals and train stations.
According to the ministry, about 3,000 halal food manufacturers are operating in the Kingdom.
