News Forum - Rice exporters say Thailand needs new rice breeds to be competitive

[Thaiger]

Rice exporters have said that Thailand needs new breeds of rice in order to compete in the global rice market. The president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association said yesterday that Thailand tends to set its rice prices too high for its quality, which is why the country’s rice export volume has continued to drop. The president, Charoen Laothamatas, said that new breeds must be developed that suit the market’s demand. He noted that in his 40 years working in the rice industry, he has not seen Thailand develop any new rice breeds. He said… “Many new breeds have been […]

The story Rice exporters say Thailand needs new rice breeds to be competitive as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Rookiescot]

There are many new rice breeds out there. You just need to buy them from western companies.

But of course this is Thailand where things should be done in an acceptable manner where companies give brown envelopes to certain people. Western companies don't do that. 

Three years from now the same group will be claiming the west is being unreasonable by not giving Thailand what it wants after its own rice program fails because of 100 different reasons none of which was Thailands fault.

So we are going to get the Chinese stuff because they give out the brown envelopes.

[KaptainRob]

11 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

There are many new rice breeds out there. You just need to buy them from western companies.

I agree, and we often find the new varieties at OTOP or Royal Project stores.   Seems to me that the Rice Marketing people (eg the ones complaining) are not doing enough promotion.

May be a case of speaking out in order to claim extra funding ... TiT

[Noble_Design]

1 hour ago, Rookiescot said:

There are many new rice breeds out there. You just need to buy them from western companies.

But of course this is Thailand where things should be done in an acceptable manner where companies give brown envelopes to certain people. Western companies don't do that. 

Three years from now the same group will be claiming the west is being unreasonable by not giving Thailand what it wants after its own rice program fails because of 100 different reasons none of which was Thailands fault.

So we are going to get the Chinese stuff because they give out the brown envelopes.

What a silly statement. Rice isn't even a staple food in western world and you'd expect them to pour money to develop new breeds of them?

Besides even if they do the rice are suited for western soil and climate to cultivate. And no western countries (save for Brazil) is in the top 10 rice producers in the world.

And what's wrong with the Chinese 'stuffs'? They are the one to first domesticate rice thousands of years ago and have successfully fed billions with it.

[Janneman]

10 hours ago, Thaiger said:

The president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association said yesterday that Thailand tends to set its rice prices too high for its quality, which is why the country’s rice export volume has continued to drop.

Maybe they need new rice breeds with better quality. Or lower the prices since apparantly they are too high for the quality they produce now.

[Grumpish]

I personally prefer the flavour of Thai Mali Hom rice, but it is more expensive than other types of good quality rice (thinking of Basmati rice here). Unless someone is willing to take a hit on the subsidies to the rice farmers - which would probably fall foul of world trade rules -  then nothing is likely to change.

[Rookiescot]

9 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

What a silly statement. Rice isn't even a staple food in western world and you'd expect them to pour money to develop new breeds of them?

Besides even if they do the rice are suited for western soil and climate to cultivate. And no western countries (save for Brazil) is in the top 10 rice producers in the world.

And what's wrong with the Chinese 'stuffs'? They are the one to first domesticate rice thousands of years ago and have successfully fed billions with it.

What a silly statement. You obviously know nothing about western agrochemical companies.

[KaptainRob]

4 hours ago, Janneman said:

Maybe they need new rice breeds with better quality. Or lower the prices since apparantly they are too high for the quality they produce now.

There are a number of research facilities in Thailand, some investigating organic production, others higher yield from existing strains and others developing new varieties.  The Government also provides assistance in converting to organic varieties with professional people going out among the growers.

The biggest impediment to improving production, quality and quantity, is the over-abundance of small growers who are too old to change their ways.   Large organic farmers are a minority but doing very well and I must say I enjoy their 'brown' rice for its nutty flavour - it's not cheap.

Vietnam at #5 has overtaken Thailand #6 in actual production as of 2019.

[Cabra]

The real problem for both Vietnam and Thailand is India. India sets the market price because they produce (by far) the most rice. THA quality is good but THA growers want to earn more money, but can't because the global price of rice is set by India. And given today's global inflation, the last thing most buyers are looking for is high end oganics (it's still niche for the most part). Increasing yields is also difficult given THA farming methods (not industrial enough, and inefficient, manual labor intensive).

[Noble_Design]

3 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

What a silly statement. You obviously know nothing about western agrochemical companies.

I know enough about their GMO plants and they can keep that and their obesity back in their world.

[Janneman]

2 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

I know enough about their GMO plants and they can keep that and their obesity back in their world.

Rice is a staple food for a lot of poor people in Asia, Africa and South America.. Most of them do not look very obese. And they certainly are not wealthy enough to stick to a protein and vegetable diet.

In the US and Europe there are a lot of obese people. Not because they eat rice (which they also do of course) but simply because their total intake of calories per day is way too high.

[Ivo_Shandor]

15 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

What a silly statement. Rice isn't even a staple food in western world and you'd expect them to pour money to develop new breeds of them?

Nonsense. Rice is cultivated quite extensively in the Mediterraean area in relation with the cultivable area and population.

15 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

Besides even if they do the rice are suited for western soil and climate to cultivate. And no western countries (save for Brazil) is in the top 10 rice producers in the world.

Questionable. There is no need to be in the world top10 to have an impact locally. Italy produces more than 1.5 million tons/year of rice (that is 100% non-GMO); even if this is 20 times less than Thailand, several buyers in Europe seek after Italian rice (I can mention at least three: Germany, France, UK; Russia was a godo importer too but now it is excluded). Besides, Brazil is not classified as a "Western country" in its most conservative sense.

15 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

And what's wrong with the Chinese 'stuffs'? They are the one to first domesticate rice thousands of years ago and have successfully fed billions with it.

False. Rice was domesticated both in Asia and in Africa more or less in similar epochs, a well known fact. Indeed, rice in Europe comes from North Africa, not from China.

As it was already suggested, you should learn more about agribusiness in the Western world.

[Noble_Design]

17 minutes ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

Nonsense. Rice is cultivated quite extensively in the Mediterraean area in relation with the cultivable area and population.

Like I said the western cultivars are suited to western climate e.g. the Mediterranean. You can't take that cultivar and plant it in Thailand with the climate here and expect to get good results.

20 minutes ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

Questionable. There is no need to be in the world top10 to have an impact locally. Italy produces more than 1.5 million tons/year of rice (that is 100% non-GMO); even if this is 20 times less than Thailand, several buyers in Europe seek after Italian rice (I can mention at least three: Germany, France, UK; Russia was a godo importer too but now it is excluded). Besides, Brazil is not classified as a "Western country" in its most conservative sense.

The rice grown for western world are meant for western cuisines e.g. risotto. Thais and Asians do not consume rice in the same way as westerners e.g. plain white rice with side dishes and vice versa.

22 minutes ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

False. Rice was domesticated both in Asia and in Africa more or less in similar epochs, a well known fact. Indeed, rice in Europe comes from North Africa, not from China.

False. The dominant rice consumed in Asia is Oryza sativa which was domesticated in China 8000 - 13000 years ago.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.275.5298.309

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222526251_The_Evolving_Story_of_Rice_Evolution

The one domesticated in Africa is the cultivar Oryza glaberrima much much later at 3000 years ago.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6424484/

Even Arborio rice mainly used for Italian risotto are actually a cultivar of Oryza sativa from Asia.

And even in Africa they have largely abandoned the Oryza glaberrima cultivar in favor of higher yield Oryza sativa.

37 minutes ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

As it was already suggested, you should learn more about agribusiness in the Western world.

I'd suggest you to learn more about rice first.

[Janneman]

5 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

Large organic farmers are a minority but doing very well and I must say I enjoy their 'brown' rice for its nutty flavour - it's not cheap.

There you have the problem in a nutshell. You can produce average quality rice in bulk, and sell for low prices. Or produce it for niche markets, and sell at premium prices. Thailand apparantly produces bulk quality but they want premium prices. On a global market that doesnt work.

Sounds familiar? Taxi drivers who are not maffia? Phuket masseuses complaining about cheap competition? It is all a matter of supply and demand. Adjust your prices, or go do something else.

[KaptainRob]

8 minutes ago, Janneman said:

Thailand apparantly produces bulk quality but they want premium prices. On a global market that doesnt work.

You are correct although Thai's prices are undermined by India and Vietnam's production on a far lower cost base.  This is why Thai rice growing co-ops are aiming to produce value-added varieties but it's not easy to amalgamate millions of small holdings.

[Rookiescot]

3 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

I'd suggest you to learn more about rice first.

Are you suggesting that agrochemical businesses in the west completely ignore Asian markets and do not develop products for them?

Seriously. Go do some research.

[Noble_Design]

29 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Are you suggesting that agrochemical businesses in the west completely ignore Asian markets and do not develop products for them?

Seriously. Go do some research.

You mentioned that the west has many new breeds of rice, which one is it? And does is suit the climate, soil and taste preference of Thailand and or it's customers?

[Rookiescot]

Western agrochemical companies are constantly bringing new seeds and products online for all staple food sources.

How many times are you going to post without actually knowing what you are talking about? You have been utterly dismissive of others with your "Silly statements" and its "GMO plants" narrative. 

[palooka]

4 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

 co-ops are aiming to produce value-added varieties but it's not easy to amalgamate millions of small holdings.

I see locals growing rice on 1 rai of land, did some sums, cheaper to buy at Lotus, but it is in their system that the grow rice in this field every year.  For some I think it keeps them alive working that one rai.

Buy 5 kilos off them every year and (pay overs) and it is good rice.  They dry it on my concrete drive.

[Marc26]

A drag out fight over rice

 

Ya have to love this forum.   

[HiuMak]

Fragrant rice from Thailand is no longer fragrant. Everytime I buy fragrant rice now the taste seems different from before and I have tried many different brands.

Not sure if it is downgrading or profiteering by mixing. I miss the old taste of real fragrant rice 

[Fanta]

4 minutes ago, HiuMak said:

Fragrant rice from Thailand is no longer fragrant. Everytime I buy fragrant rice now the taste seems different from before and I have tried many different brands.

Not sure if it is downgrading or profiteering by mixing. I miss the old taste of real fragrant rice 

A friend buys Thai produced goods for retail sale in his country and, year after year, his #1 complaint is the fragrant rice being mixed or of poor quality. 

[KaptainRob]

20 minutes ago, Fanta said:

A friend buys Thai produced goods for retail sale in his country and, year after year, his #1 complaint is the fragrant rice being mixed or of poor quality. 

Fragrant rice varieties as well as Jasmine/Hom Mali, can be grown in many countries - Vn, Laos, Cambodia, India, Australia and so on.  Labelling is not always indicative of the true origin.

Jasmine rice loses it's fragrance reasonably fast.  When we buy it, we check the packing date for freshness as last seasons crop will be drier and have little or no fragrance remaining. 

Hom Mali brown rice stays fresh longer than polished white, and is usually packed in vacuum-solid bricks.  It has a superb flavour.