The Thai 200,000 ton Rice Mistery

posted by   lillilee (50)   6 months ago (farang.pai-nai.com)

Continued increasing rice prices in the Thai market have prompted numerous farmers and middlemen to slow, stall or altogether stop selling paddy rice to millers, a move which eventually affects exporters, according to a Bank of Thailand (BoT) official who is deeply acquainted with the rice trade. Benjamas Kotenongbua, a senior economist at BoT's Northeastern Office in Khon Kaen, said that this year's rice prices have soared unexpectedly to a new record high. The government-sponsored mortgage program for the 2007-2008 rice season saw only 240,000 tonnes of rice being committed to it, compared to earlier estimates of 8 million tonnes, she said.