BANGKOK, Oct 18 – A Thai delegation will wrap up an agreement with China’s central government next month on exports of rice to the mainland at one million tonnes annually, according to a senior Cabinet member.
Deputy Prime Minister/Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan said the government-to-government deal, to be concluded by December at the latest, would include exports of white rice and fragrant rice on a continuing basis.
If an agreement is reached, the first batch of rice should be delivered to China early next year, he said.
Mr Niwatthamrong will lead the Thai trade team for the mission.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said after a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang on the weekend that China would buy one million tonnes of rice and 200,000 tonnes of rubber from Thailand on a yearly basis for the next five years.
Mr Niwatthamrong said the G-to-G rice deal would not include agreements between the Thai private sector and Chinese state enterprises, and another deal to sell rice directly to Harbin city in Hellongjiang province.
He said his upcoming meeting with the Chinese premier would focus on rice sales to China’s central government and the categories of rice to be exported.
Most importantly, the price would be based on the world market price, he said.
He said the Commerce Ministry was hoping that it could reach the export target of seven million tonnes for this year while next year’s export projection was set for 8-10 million tonnes.
