Jump to content

Stronger baht pounding rice exports, say traders


snoop1130

Recommended Posts

Stronger baht pounding rice exports, say traders

By Wichit Chaitrong
The Nation

 

800_e89c1c4f5d473a0.jpg

 

Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, has expressed concern over the impact the baht’s appreciation is having on his sector.

 

The baht has risen about 6 per cent against the US dollar since January, whereas the Vietnam dong has held study and the Indian rupee has even weakened, Charoen noted, citing Thailand’s chief competitors in the global rice trade.

 

“The stronger baht has largely made Thai rice more expensive than those of our competitors,” he said. “Homali fragrant rice, for example, currently cost $1,200 per metric tonne, while Vietnam jasmine is only $520.” 

 

The association puts the price of Indian basmati at between $1,030 and $1,140 per tonne and Cambodia’s pkha malis at $935.

 

Thailand exported 4.4 million tonnes between January and June, down 19.6 per cent year on year, and the value plunged 17 per cent to Bt72.2 billion.

 

Charoen said total rice exports this year are expected to reach 9 million tonnes, down from 11.2 million last year.

 

Severe drought this past season might not greatly affect the first crop now that rain has appeared, he said, but the second crop will be hit because there’s so little water in reserve at the dams.

 

Rice vendors have meanwhile been complaining about the rising cost of glutinous rice. 

 

Charoen pointed out, though, that glutinous rice is for domestic consumption rather than export and its price is quite sensitive to local demand and supply. 

 

Farmers in the Northeast  have given up growing it as preferences shift to fragrant rice, he said, resulting in a diminished supply.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30375384

 

logo2.jpg

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-26
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bit of a sticky situation lol
Wonder if you can use rice in road surfacing like can with the rubber 555

Between yingkucks rice scheme and unclebucks over valued baht they up the creek as a respected rice supplier, no need for paddles though as chinese have stolen all the river water 555

all this mess and to think bank had raised the interest rate and has only dropped it back same amount, needs further adjusting and they need act fast as between military junta scoffing at the trough and selling out cheap to the chinese and no tourists and no good exports they heading to bottom of pile in asia .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep and it won't get better the accumulated effect of the Bt riding high for any length of time will worsen things .. And markets lost to competitors will be hard to retake .. This is another flashing light on the dashboard regarding the strength of the currency .. Less getting sold abroad and less farang going the other way spending dough .. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BuckBee said:

Bit of a sticky situation lol
Wonder if you can use rice in road surfacing like can with the rubber 555

Between yingkucks rice scheme and unclebucks over valued baht they up the creek as a respected rice supplier, no need for paddles though as chinese have stolen all the river water 555

all this mess and to think bank had raised the interest rate and has only dropped it back same amount, needs further adjusting and they need act fast as between military junta scoffing at the trough and selling out cheap to the chinese and no tourists and no good exports they heading to bottom of pile in asia .

And quite frankly the faster they get there the better it will be for all of us !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^

not really as would need get rid of military rule to get you expats back on normal ground.

Prayut hates westerners and most if not all changes been implemented by him and like minded junta .

Things will get worse even if economy tanks and Baht drops 10% as those in charge simply have no interest in low class thais and even less interest in Farang besides clearing out those who not like minded and highly wealthy .
Vietnam, cambodia and malaysia doing well and far more welcoming to foreigners as expats or companies ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have a pure commodity business where the export price is fixed by type and grade according to international supply and demand, not by any value added by the Thai Chinese middle men who expect to drive Benzes and send their children to expensive foreign schools, while the producers remain in abject poverty. Maybe there is something wrong with the Thai business model compared to Vietnam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So where’s the problem?  With a sky high Baht and copious USD reserves—Thailand simply stores this year’s rice crop, and purchases rice from Vietnam, India and yes, even the USA.

You reap what you sow, Thailand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We now grow chemical free jasmine rice on 35 rai I bought 12 years ago in Ubon and produce enough of a surplus to sell. It is milled and packaged at the new village cooperative rice mill and we sell to friends and acquaintances by word of mouth and on Facebook sending by Kerry usually orders of 10kg. It is not hugely lucrative but covers its costs and gives us free rice to eat. It is satisfying to know that the chemical producers and parasitic Chinese merchants are not making a penny from our production. The village cooperative is also trying to do its own marketing too, so as to be able to offer better prices to local farmers than the Chinese millers who always squeeze them over humidity when they have no means of checking the calibration of the miller’s measuring equipment. We are not just talking Thai Chinese millers here. The largest mill in the area is owned by a Taiwanese.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand exported 4.4 million tonnes between January and June, down 19.6 per cent year on year, and the value plunged 17 per cent to Bt72.2 billion.

It was just several days ago that

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30375207

  • Assoc Professor Dr Nipon Poapongsakorn, an academic at Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation (TDRI), said “Price guarantees cannot boost agricultural prooduction price either, because it has to follow market trends. If the government wants to boost production price, it should use the mortgaging method, though I don’t think this government will do that. The mortgaging system also has faults,”
  • Associate Professor Dr Somchai Pakapaswiwat, an independent economics and politics academic, said the government has to raise agricultural productivity by using innovation and big data to help farmers improve quality.

The above followed various Government actions:

  • March 14, 2019: The weekly Cabinet meeting has allocated another five billion baht to support rice agriculture during the current production year. © Copyright nnt 2019-03-14
  • March 21, 2019: Korat farmers warned against growing second rice crop © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-21  
  • July 11, 2019: Thailand rice exports hit by strong baht, unlikely to meet 2019 goal © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-11
  • July 15, 2019: Govt uses production principles to stabilize rice prices © Copyright NNT 2019-07-15
  • August 18, 2019: Govt agrees on price guarantee for rice © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-18
  • August 21, 2019: The National Rice Policy Committee on Wednesday approved a Bt21-billion budget to guarantee the price of rice harvested in 2019 and 2020. © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-21

The Government keeps using its short-term subsidy tools to save an agriculture industry that cannot be sustained long-term. The industry needs more innovation and unfortunately discipline to change its centuries-old traditions and culture to begin a sustainable industry.

Prayut's five-year and current economic track record seems unable itself to change; how can anyone expect the agriculture industry to change?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dogmatix said:

...Maybe there is something wrong with the Thai business model compared to Vietnam.

I know that in the rubber business, Thailand is largely small land owners renting or leasing to the small farmer. The competing countries like Indonesia are large corporate farms and operate more efficiently and therefore lower cost than the Thai farmer. I'm not sure if rice is similar or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Severe drought this past season might not greatly affect the first crop now that rain has appeared, he said, but the second crop will be hit because there’s so little water in reserve at the dams.

Not in the paddies near our place in Korat. The first crop has already withered away. It started raining during the last week but too little too late as it's all dead. Not sure if they're planning on doing a "second" crop but it sounds like there might be no point if the dams are empty.

 

There's certainly going to be a shortage of rice next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dogmatix said:

We now grow chemical free jasmine rice on 35 rai I bought 12 years ago in Ubon and produce enough of a surplus to sell. It is milled and packaged at the new village cooperative rice mill and we sell to friends and acquaintances by word of mouth and on Facebook sending by Kerry usually orders of 10kg. It is not hugely lucrative but covers its costs and gives us free rice to eat. It is satisfying to know that the chemical producers and parasitic Chinese merchants are not making a penny from our production. The village cooperative is also trying to do its own marketing too, so as to be able to offer better prices to local farmers than the Chinese millers who always squeeze them over humidity when they have no means of checking the calibration of the miller’s measuring equipment. We are not just talking Thai Chinese millers here. The largest mill in the area is owned by a Taiwanese.

Have you tried marketing the whole grain version of this product? There appears to be a strong demand for organic brown rice, and it is nutritious, rather than just serving up empty calories. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Have you tried marketing the whole grain version of this product? There appears to be a strong demand for organic brown rice, and it is nutritious, rather than just serving up empty calories. 

Yeh I only eat brown rice. The additional cost is absolutely negligible considering how many portions you get out of a 5kg bag

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Srikcir said:

It was just several days ago that

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30375207

  • Assoc Professor Dr Nipon Poapongsakorn, an academic at Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation (TDRI), said “Price guarantees cannot boost agricultural prooduction price either, because it has to follow market trends. If the government wants to boost production price, it should use the mortgaging method, though I don’t think this government will do that. The mortgaging system also has faults,”
  • Associate Professor Dr Somchai Pakapaswiwat, an independent economics and politics academic, said the government has to raise agricultural productivity by using innovation and big data to help farmers improve quality.

The above followed various Government actions:

  • March 14, 2019: The weekly Cabinet meeting has allocated another five billion baht to support rice agriculture during the current production year. © Copyright nnt 2019-03-14
  •  

    March 21, 2019: Korat farmers warned against growing second rice crop © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-21  
  • July 11, 2019: Thailand rice exports hit by strong baht, unlikely to meet 2019 goal © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-11
  • July 15, 2019: Govt uses production principles to stabilize rice prices © Copyright NNT 2019-07-15
  • August 18, 2019: Govt agrees on price guarantee for rice © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-18
  • August 21, 2019: The National Rice Policy Committee on Wednesday approved a Bt21-billion budget to guarantee the price of rice harvested in 2019 and 2020. © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-21

The Government keeps using its short-term subsidy tools to save an agriculture industry that cannot be sustained long-term. The industry needs more innovation and unfortunately discipline to change its centuries-old traditions and culture to begin a sustainable industry.

Prayut's five-year and current economic track record seems unable itself to change; how can anyone expect the agriculture industry to change?

 

 

since they are no acting up on the baht, exports and tourism problems, one has to wonder why, theymust know something that we don't know or are they that slow brainers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

since they are no acting up on the baht, exports and tourism problems, one has to wonder why, theymust know something that we don't know or are they that slow brainers

Their brains only work in the interests of themselves and the rest of the Elite.  The Super Rich are using the power of the high Baht to buy more and more Foreign Land and Property and until they are satisfied they are done with it for a while nothing will be done about the Baht !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

While the Malasian Wazzer has stayed the same against the Cambodian Dangler

Lots of people in these uncertain "TM 30/Visa" times have spoken about relocating to Vietnam. 

 

Personally, I'd feel uncomfortable about going to a country where it might prove necessary to slap my "dong" on the table. 

 

Rooster

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Their brains only work in the interests of themselves and the rest of the Elite.  The Super Rich are using the power of the high Baht to buy more and more Foreign Land and Property and until they are satisfied they are done with it for a while nothing will be done about the Baht !

I think the only way to get any action on the baht is for all countries to impose the same restrictions on elite filthy rich Thais buying real estate in the USA ,UK Australia etc as the Thais impose on them ! That is rich Thais cannot own real estate in those countries ! Watch the rich demand action if that was implemented !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

Lots of people in these uncertain "TM 30/Visa" times have spoken about relocating to Vietnam. 

 

Personally, I'd feel uncomfortable about going to a country where it might prove necessary to slap my "dong" on the table. 

 

Rooster

Usually I get in trouble for that but you're saying that in Vietnam it is actively encouraged? 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/27/2019 at 9:55 AM, Srikcir said:

The Government keeps using its short-term subsidy tools to save an agriculture industry that cannot be sustained long-term.

That is nonsense. The aggriculture here is run mostly by small scale farmers aka hobbyists that have a second job/real job. It provides the base nutritions to the whole country. Thailand is rice export country number one in the world. What actually do you want to improve by "industrialization"? The improvements we are working on are irrigation, water conservation for the second harvest or early seeding for the first harvest before the later and later coming rain season.

No one here wants american situations where one farmer goes bankrupt after the next and farms are run like mega corporations. Here basically no one has more than a 25 or 50 rai land. All are happy. How much the rice actually costs and what the world market is: no one cares. We use half of the rice of the first harvest and eat it, keep it for seeds and give away to friends and family, the other half is sold. If --- this year a big if --- we have a second harvest, we sell it all. The rice is a 13th and perhaps 14th month wage in a year, and free food. That is all. And that is how 90% of the rice farms are run in Isaan ... probably whole Thailand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, rhyddid said:

Someone , somehow, want the THB stronger and stronger, this is killing export, tourism, foreign investments, but seem they do not care, otherwise they can bring the THB back to 31 vs USD.

Why would they care? Except for Rice, Thailand is not exporting anything. But they buy: cars, e.g. Computers. A strong Baht is good for them. No idea why you think it is not. Sure, if you are a tourist and every bar/restaurant/shop you go convert Baht into dollars or Euro and then think, is it cheap enough to go ... your problem.

The beer in a restaurant costs 110 or 120 Baht ... the beer in a shop costs 589 Baht for 12 bottles in a Tesco and the 'same price' for 15 bottles in a Macros ... why would I run around and think "Oh, that box is now up from 12,50 € to nearly 15€ ..." Yes, it is objectively more expensive for _me_

But for my wife it is the same price she paid last year. Or do you think because of the "strong bath" they cut her wage?

Except for potential rice export a normal Thai feels absolutely nothing about changing Bath except of cheaper imports.

And the rice price is guaranteed by the government: so, they earn more than last year, as the price got set up higher.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...