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Thailand, VN to join forces on rice exports
Thai and Vietnamese rice exporters have agreed to co-operate to beef up their bargaining power in global markets.
An agreement was signed between Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, and Huynh Minh Hue, secretary-general of the Viet Nam Food Association, at the 6th rice trade co-operation meeting in Phuket last week.
Under a memorandum of understanding they agreed to seek to standardise sales contracts to provide a fairer deal to rice exporters.
"Now, importers have a greater say in sales contracts, which contain some conditions that are not fair to us," the Bangkok Post quoted Chookiat as saying.
For instance, he said, they demand contracts that include a 5 per cent "plus-or-minus" clause which means exporters are required to ship up to 10,500 tonnes for an order of 10,000 tonnes, while importers can choose to take just 9,500 tonnes.
Vietnamese traders shoulder an even higher burden of 10 per cent plus or minus, according to the Bangkok Post.
The 6th meeting in Phuket last week aims at strengthening the two countries’ export competitiveness through closer co-operation. A working group has been formed to work on details.
Chookiat said Thailand plans to sell around 8 million tonnes of rice this year, compared to 10 million tonnes last year.
His country turns out 20 million tonnes of milled rice annually, half of which is meant for domestic consumption.
vietnamnews
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