Conversation with Chareon Laothamatas: President of Thai Rice Exporters Association Many people realize by now that the rice scheme in Thailand, under Yingluck, is ravaging rice farmers and seriously damaging the economy. I had a long talk with Chareon this morning in his office. What he explained was even worse than what appears in the papers. In retrospect I should have requested to set up a video camera; what he said should be more widely heard. The devastation to that sector is long-term and could take years to regain Thai dominance in rice exports. An important aspect of the devastation is that the quality of rice also has been damaged, reducing its value. For instance, for various reasons related and unrelated to the scheme, fragrant rice has been losing its fragrance. Meanwhile, Chareon explained that India and Vietnam have taken the lead, but that India has its own rice scheme that could similarly wreck their progress, while Vietnam is the smartest with its plan. And so now with millions of tons of rice still sitting in Thai warehouses, the first crop of 2014 is now starting to come in. Chareon’s suggestion was not to worry about the rice in the warehouses at this moment, but to move the new crop out the door and then get back to the stored rice, which he suggested should be used in the domestic market. I asked if the rice farmers will fight the government if they are not paid. He said they will not fight so much right now because they are in their fields working to bring the first harvest in, which will be over in February. He said that if the farmers decide to do something serious, the post-harvest window of March-April is the most likely window. I call these “farmers wars” – not that this is a war in Thailand. Farmers wars typically revolve around the crop cycles and seasons.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 07:01:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015