http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/246566/hoarding-rice-supply-shortages

About agriculture

Published: 11 Jul 2011 at 19.02

Rice may be difficult to find on store shelves soon as millers hold back stocks from packers, expecting windfall profits with new rice policy.

Click button to listen to Rice Millers Hoarding Rice and rightclick to download

AGRICULTURE: Millers hoarding rice in hopes of pledging return by Phusadee Arunmas

Rice packers are warning of retail price increases in the next two months as stocks dwindle while the industry waits to see if the new government will make good on its promise to increase crop prices.

Rice millers are waiting for policies from the new government, which is lowering rice volume in the market and affecting packers substantially,” said Somkiat Makcayathorn, president of the Thai Rice Packers Association.

One of Pheu Thai’s key campaign promises was to bring back rice pledging with a commitment to pay 15,000 baht a tonne for white rice paddy, and 20,000 baht for Hom Mali fragrant paddy

Those prices are far above current market rates, and millers have been stocking up on paddy in the hopes of earning windfall profits later this year.

“It’s hard to get rice from millers to repack for sales,” Mr Somkiat said.

Domestic prices are already edging up in response to the expected return of pledging.Fragrant rice is selling for 30-32 baht a kilogramme, up from 28-30 baht the week before theelection. The industry estimates rice prices could increase by as much as 60% by the end of the year if Pheu Thai keeps its promises.

Pheu Thai’s promise to increase the minimum wage to 300 baht a day will also affect the rice-packing industry.

Wages account for 8% of the cost of rice, and analysts say a wage increase would raise thatproportion to 11%.

“We may have to raise retail prices in August and make revisions early next year if a new wage is applied,” said Mr Somkiat.

The association will ask the new Commerce Minister to protect packers by capping retail rice prices to conform with changing costs. The capped prices are currently 90-125 baht for a five-kilogramme bag of white rice and 150-190 baht for five kilogrammes of Hom Mali.

The pledging plan would replace the income guarantee programme that allows farmers to mortgage paddy to the state and redeem the grain when the market price is higher.

But there have been no records of redemption because past pledging prices were normally high, creating a stockpile of 6 million tonnes of paddy in 2009 from the previous programme.

The paddy is largely kept at millers’ warehouses, costing the government more money. High pledging prices also induce traders and millers to buy low-priced grain smuggled in from neighbouring countries to earn windfall profits.

(Source: Bangkok Post, AGRICULTURE, Millers hoarding rice in hopes of pledging return, 11/07/2011, Phusadee Arunmas, link)

Rice Industry Vocabulary 

hoarding - buying a lot and keeping it without using it (because you expect the price to go up in the future) กักตุน

repack - pack again
repack rice for sales - take rice from the big bags used to store it in warehouses and put it in smaller bags used to sell it in stores

rice packers - companies that package rice creating a product that can be sold in stores
packers - same as “rice packers”

retail - to sell directly to the public for their own use ขายปลีก
retail price - the price that customers pay in stores

stockpile - large quantities of goods stored for future use คลังสินค้า จำนวนสินค้าที่เก็บตุนไว้เป็นจำนวนมาก
stocks - large amounts stored for future use
dwindle - reduce in number ลดจำนวนลง
stocks dwindle - the amounts of rice in stock (for future use) are decreasing
stocking up on - storing large amounts for future use
warehouse - a large building to keep stocks of rice until it is time to sell them

volume - the quantity or amount of something

paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก

current - now, at the present time ปัจจุบัน
current market prices - prices that rice is being bought and sold at now in the market

windfall profits - sudden large profits

domestic prices - prices inside the country (not “export prices” for sale outside the country)
prices edging up - prices increasing slowly (by little amounts each time)

cap - create an upper limit (no more than this value)
capping retail prices - setting a highest price that can be charged in stores (cannot rise above a certain level)

X conforms with Y - X is at the appropriate level for Y
capping retail rice prices to conform with changing costs - setting highest price of good charged in stores so that it is greater than cost of producing it

replace - to get rid of someone or something and to put a new person or thing in their place หาคนมาแทน  เลิกให้และนำสิ่งใหม่มาใช้แทน

pledging plan - the old system (of government rice price support for farmers)
rice pledging - same as “pledging plan”

income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
guarantee - a promise that something will be done or will happen คำรับรอง, การประกัน (Seeglossary)

income guarantee - a promise of a certain income
income guarantee programme - the new rice policy started by the Abhisit administration

mortgage - a legal agreement in which you borrow money from a bank
state - government รัฐ

redeem (verb) – when you are given back the valuable thing that you gave (pledged) as guarantee for a loan (meaning: if you did not pay back the loan, they lender would take that valuable thing, which is called “security” for a loan or “collateral”)
redemption (noun) – the action of redeeming the thing you gave as security for a loan

grain - a crop like rice or wheat, the seed from cereal crops such as rice, wheat, or corn เมล็ดพืช
records - pieces of information describing something written down or stored on a computer บันทึุก

trade - the business of buying and selling things
traders - companies that buy and sell things for profit
rice traders - companies that buy and sell rice for a profit

smuggled - bring goods into a country secretly and illegally
smuggle rice across borders - bring rice into the country illegally from another country

General Vocabulary 

key - important คนสำคัญ

campaign - a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาสียง
campaign promises - same as “election promises” 

election - the process of choosing a person or a group of person for a position, especially by voting elect (v) electoral (adj) synonym: the polls การเลือกตั้ง
election promises - promises that election candidates make to help get them elected (promises are often not kept)

commitment - a promise to do something in the future ข้อสัญญา

expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
estimates - guesses of what the size, value, amount, cost, etc. of something might be การประมาณค่า

wage - an amount of money that you earn for working, usually according to how many hours or days you work each week or month ค่าจ้าง
minimum wage - the lowest wage that can  legally given to an employee per day

proportion of X - part of X, percentage of X
revisions - changes การเปลี่ยนแปลง

induce - cause ก่อให้เกิด

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/245593/rice-markets-freeze

About agriculture

Published: 5 Jul 2011 at 18.57

Rice trading grinds to a halt in anticipation of new rice policy likely to drive rices higher in Thailand as well as world.
Click button to listen to Rice Policy Change and rightclick to download

AGRICULTURE, Rice traders await clarity on PT policy by Phusadee Arunmas

The rice market is frozen as traders worry that the revival of the rice mortgage policyby the new Pheu Thai-led government could jack up prices of white rice in the global market to as much as US$850 a tonne.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said millershad stopped buying paddy and were adopting a “wait and see” stance as they monitorprice trends.

At the same time, exporters have stopped taking orders from international buyers, especially for shipments to be delivered in August and September, as they are afraid of losing money.

“All parties are waiting to see the details of implementation guideline of the rice mortgage policy under the new government. So Thai rice exports will certainly be reduced over the next two to three months,” he said.

The Pheu Thai policy to reinstate mortgaging by purchasing paddy into government stocksat 15,000 baht a tonne ($488) would increase the FOB price of white rice by $330 a tonne.

The current price of 5% white rice is $520 a tonne so the new price will be $850immediately. This jump in price, instead of a gradual rise, would be difficult for buyers to accept,” said Mr Chookiat.

A survey by Bloomberg News indicated that rice prices in Thailand may rally 56% by year-end to $810 a tonne.

“It isn’t only Thai prices that will go up, the rest of the world will have to follow,” the agency quoted Mamadou Ciss, CEO of Geneva-based Hermes Investments Pte, as saying.

“The price may jump $100 a tonne within two months and peak at $700,” said Mr Ciss, who correctly predicted in 2006 that prices would double.

Export prices will probably rise 10% in a month, said Wichai Srinawakul, vice-president of the Thai Rice Mills Association. When the price-pledging scheme is implemented, it will lift the price further, probably to $830 per tonne by the end of this year.

With higher rice prices foreseen, Mr Chookiat is concerned that buyers might turn to other countries, especially arch-rival Vietnam, or they might be more self-sufficient countries.

He urged the new government to make sure it does not repeat the mistakes made under earlier rice mortgage programmes, which were widely criticised as corrupt. For example, farmers had to pay certain sums to participate in the scheme while politicians soughtbenefits from rice millers and exporters.

As well, governments ran up large losses for storing rice for months or even years in the hope that export prices would rise. In the end, most of the rice was sold for less than the government had paid originally.

Mr Chookiat also said the government needed to ensure that cheaper paddy from neighbouring countries is not smuggled into Thailand to take advantage of high pledging prices.

“The private sector still sees no solutions to the problems because these are endlessissues,” he noted.

Thailand exports approximately one million tonnes of rice a month. But the projection for July is 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes as exporters still have orders in hand.

The projection has been reduced to 500,000 tonnes in the next two months. Overall exports for this year may be around 10 million tonnes, instead of 11 million.

The Democrat-led government replaced the mortgage scheme with an insurance programme under which farmers were compensated directly if their selling prices were below agreedbenchmarks set every two weeks.

The most recent benchmark price for 5% white rice was about 11,000 baht a tonne

(Source: Bangkok Post, AGRICULTURE, Rice traders await clarity on PT policy, 5/07/2011, Phusadee Arunmas, link)

X in anticipation of Y -  X happened or was done because Y is expected
grind to a halt - stop quickly

traders - people who buy and sell things for a profit (rice and agricultural commodities or securities: stocks, bonds, derivatives) ผู้ค้าหุ้นและหลักทรัพย์
clear (adjective) – something easy to see or an idea easy to understand
clarity (noun) - the state or condition of being clear (example: there is great clarity in his ideas) 
policy - a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes, a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
frozen - when something stops moving (when water turns to ice, for example)
rice market is frozen - market has stopped, people are not buying and selling goods (because of uncertainty about policy)

revival - bring back to life, to bring back into use something that has not been used for a period of time
mortgage - a legal agreement in which you borrow money from a bank การจำนอง
rice mortgage policy - the old style rice policy
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก

rice mill - a factory that processes rice from the field and creates packaged rice in bags that can be sold in stores
millers owner - owner-operators of rice mills
paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก

adopting - accepting or starting to use something new นำมาใช้
stance - your attitude, views or opinion about an issue ความเห็น จุดยืน
adopting a “wait and see” stance - not making any decisions until you see what happens

monitor - to regularly check something or watch someone in order to find out what is happening ตรวจสอบ ตรวจตรา เฝ้าจับตาดู เฝ้าดู จับตาดู จับตา เฝ้าระวัง  
price trends - the general direction that prices are heading over time

international - ระหว่างประเทศ between countries
international buyers - buyers from other countries (export rice from Thailand, import the rice into their country)
parties - all people or organizations entering into some agreement or who are affected by some decision

implementation - making a plan into reality, actually do or carry out a plan, execution of a plan (See glossary) นำมาใช้
guideline - rules that tell you (roughly) how to do something

reinstate - to cause something to exist again นำกลับมาใช้อีก
stocks - large amounts stored for future use

current - a strong movement of water in one direction, in this case, meaning a very difficult or dangerous situation กระแส
current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน
immediately - happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
gradual - moving slowly
survey - gathering information about what people think about different subjects (public opionion) by asking large numbers of people questions and counting their answers, and then using statistics, graphs, and tables to present results (See Wikipedia) การสำรวจความเห็น
rice prices rally - rice prices increase (over a period of time)

peak - the time when something is at its highest or greatest level ช่วงเวลาที่พบมากที่สุด
double - to become twice as big, twice as much or twice as many เพิ่มเป็นสองเท่า
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
implemented - when a plan is put into action, actually doing the things in a plan
lift price - increase price

foreseen - see as happening in the future
concerned - worried about something มีความกังวล
rival - a person you are competing against or opposing คู่แข่ง
arch-rival - the most rival (or competitor) that you have
sufficient - enough พอเพียง
self-sufficient - when you can take care of all your own needs (without relying on others)

urge - advise someone very strongly about what action should be taken วิงวอน
criticise - find error or fault with something
participate - to take part in or become involved in an activity มีส่วน
benefits - goods things that a person can get from some activity ผลประโยชน์
ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ ให้การยืนยัน
smuggled - bring goods into a country secretly and illegally
advantage - a condition giving a greater chance of success ความได้เปรียบ
take advantage of - act to get some benefit from a situation (example: take advantage of the low prices for oil during the sale and buy several boxes of oil)
pledging prices - the prices offered by the government to farmers under the “rice mortgage policy” that will be revived

sector - a part of the economy (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,…) ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ (SeeWikipedia)
private sector - all the businesses in the economy
issues - problems that need to be considered, decided on, decisions made about ประเด็น
projection - guessing a future amount, a calculation or guess about the future based on information that you have การคาดคะเน

insurance - a system that pays money to help people harmed by bad event, a system of protection against loss (usually a person pays money every month (premiums) for a guarantee that the company will pay them money if they or their property is damaged or lost (SeeWikipedia) การประกันภัย

compensated directly - given money directly (not through another person or “middleman”)
benchmark - a standard that other things can be compared to and measured by
benchmark price - the one price that other prices are calculated from (so only need to look at this price to see if all prices are currently moving up or down)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/244594/rice-policy-corruption

About agriculture

Published: 29 Jun 2011 at 15.00

Revival of past rice policy will create opportunities for middleman rice millers to profit, not the small farmers who need help.

Click button to listen to Rice Policy Corruption and rightclick to download

Pheu Thai rice policy ’ripe for corruption’ by Parista Yuthamanop

The Pheu Thai Party’s proposal of reverting to a previous rice mortgage policy with a high premium from existing rice price guarantees could incur huge fiscal damage and open opportunities for corruption by millers, says academics.

Pheu Thai said it would set rice mortgages at 20,000 baht for premium-graded jasmine rice and and 15,000 baht for ordinary paddy for all harvested amounts.

The Democrats introduced a rice price guarantee last year at 11,000 baht per tonne for farmers registered with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives, with an aimto cut leakage to millers who acted as middlemen.

Somporn Isvilanonda, an economics professor at Kasetsart University, said both systems couldstymie farmers’ enthusiasm to reduce costs and improve yields. But the mortgage system is vulnerable to various types of corruption by millers, such as faking rice stocks, mortgaging low-quality rice and collecting premiums from farmers. It could also subduerice prices as traders would anticipate the sale of huge rice stocks.

Assoc Prof Somporn said the rice mortgage system used to be a good tool to assist farmers who have an oversupply of rice, as it offered market price or slightly above. But theexpansion of premiums and amount of mortgages by previous governments resulted inwidespread corruption. The government later sold rice in the stock at a low price to millers.

The role of the millers as middlemen resulted in just 1 million out of 4.7 million agriculturalhouseholds receiving benefits from the state, he said

Assoc Prof Somporn, who sits in the rice committee, said that both systems used a similar amount of money, but the fiscal money went directly to all registered farmers for the price guarantee programme. The rice mortgage with a high price would decrease competitivenessfor rice exports, he said.

The Abhisit Vejjajiva government, however, failed to encourage farmers to reduce costs due to its promotion of weather insurance and agricultural futures transactions. The insurance programmes encouraged farmers to grow more rice and harvest more quickly, thus the quality of rice tended to decline, he said.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating fiscal damages from the sales of crop stocks under the government’s mortgage programme. It might pick up the issue as apriority if the mortgage is reintroduced, Assoc Prof Somporn said.

Ammar Siamwalla, an honorary scholar of the Thailand Development Research Institute who advised the previous government on the rice price guarantee, said Pheu Thai would fail in its attempt to push up the rice price, as it would be depressed by huge stockpiles and increase new rice supplies.

Unlike shares, the rice price could not be propped up by buying big lots.

Pheu Thai’s policy may prove a success over the first four months of the administration, but the government would have to spend unlimited fiscal funds in trying to achieve this, Dr Ammar said

He also said the country would be put at risk of fiscal instability if Pheu Thai partyimplemented all campaign promises.

He said the Democrats should focus their campaign on the likely impact of Pheu Thai’s economic plan, rather than defending state officials’ role in the crackdown of last year’s red-shirt protests

(Source: Bangkok Post, Pheu Thai rice policy ’ripe for corruption’, 29/06/2011, Parista Yuthamanop, link)

policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes (See Wikipedia)
corruption - (See Wikipedia on bribery, corporate corruption, and political corruption)
ripe for corruption - corruption is likely in this situation

rice mortgage policy - the old system of protecting from changes in agricultural prices
rice price guarantees - the new system for protecting from changes in agricultural prices

mortgage - a legal agreement in which you borrow money from a bank in order to buy a house, build something, develop a piece of land, etc.การจำนอง
guarantee - a promise that something will be done or will happen คำรับรอง, การประกัน

proposal - a plan or suggestion for a group to consider ข้อเสนอ
revert - go back to what existed before (policies of the past)
premium – additional amount paid (beyond the normal price)
incur - having to pay an amount of money (examples: incur costs, incur expenses, incur liabilities)
fiscal - related to government spending, connected with the government budget, i.e., public money เกี่ยวกับงบประมาณ
opportunities - a situation where it is possible to do something that you want to do
rice mill - a factory that makes rice ready for sale in stores (processing and packaging in bags)
millers - owners of rice mills
academics - professors and lecturers at universities and colleges

paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field  ข้าวเปลือก

registered - officially recorded as a business with the government
aim - purpose; goal เป้าหมาย จุดมุ่งหมาย the thing you hope to achieve by doing something
leakage - money that disappears and is taken by people before it arrives at its destination (an intended use)
middlemen - people between the factory and producer and the consumer or customer พ่อค้าคนกลาง

stymie - stop something from continuing (or make it difficult to do)
enthusiasm - being very interested and involved in an activity
stymie enthusiasm - make people less enthusiastic and interested in doing something

improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
yields - how much crop a farmer gets from farming one hectare of land ผลผลิต
vulnerable - easily damaged or harmed ซึ่งถูกทำลายได้ง่าย

stocks - large amounts stored for future use
faking rice stocks - lieing or pretending to have more rice than you actually have

collecting premiums from farmers - collect extra amounts of money from farmers

subdue - bring under control (example: The animal trainer brought the dangerous wild animal under control.)
subdue rice prices - bring rice prices under control, reduce rice prices

traders - rice traders, people who buy and sell rice as a business, for a profit
anticipate - to guess that something will happen คาดการณ์

oversupply - supply of the good is greater than demand forcing down prices, to much on the market, prices drop การมีสินค้าล้นตลาด
expansion - when something increases in size, number or importance การขยายออก
widespread - happening or existing in many places, or affecting many people อย่างแพร่หลาย
stock - an amount of something that you keep so that you can use it when you need it ที่เก็บไว้ในสต๊อก
role - function or position บทบาท
households - families or groups of people living together (economics treats this as a unit that makes decisions)
benefits - money, services, or goods you receive from a government or company programme เงินช่วยเหลือ
state - government รัฐ
competitiveness - how well a business (or even whole country) can do compared to other firms (does it have lower price or higher quality?) การแข่งขัน how well a company is able to maintain or gain customers in a market

encourage - to make someone more likely to do something, or to make something more likely to happen ปลุกใจ มีกำลังใจ

insurance - a system of protection against loss, a person pays money every month (premiums) for a guarantee that the company will pay them money if they or their property is damaged or lost (See Wikipedia) การประกันภัย
weather insurance - insurance to protect a farmer from destruction of his crops by bad weather

futures - a contract to buy something in the future, a contract that is traded on a public exchange, so the price reflects current expectations about the value of the underlying asset (See Economist Glossary on derivatives) การซื้อขายล่วงหน้า
transaction - the buying and selling of something
agricultural futures transactions - the buying and selling of futures contracts (as a form of insurance against future price changes)
harvest - gather in ripe crops เก็บเกี่ยว การเก็บเกี่ยวผลผลิต

issue - a problem that needs to be considered ประเด็น
priority - something important that must be done first สี่งที่สำคัญเป็นลำดับแรก
pick up the issue as a priority - start dealing with the issue (trying to solve the problem, and treating it as one of the most important problems)
reintroduced - start again, after being stopped
honor (verb) – give a person public praise and an award (for something good that they did), also spelled “honour”
honorary (adjective) – given to a person to “honor” them (for some achivement in the past) (examples: honorary doctorate, honorary president, honorary member)
scholar - a person who studies an academic subject (history, literature, etc) and knows a lot about the subject
stockpiles - large amounts of something stored for future use กองสินค้าในโกดัง
shares - stock shares (bought and sold in the stock market)
prop up - raise, keep high and prevent from falling
prop up price - prevent prices from falling, keep prices high
administration - one government that a country has for a period of time
funds - money needed or available to spend on something เงินทุน

risk - the possibility that something dangerous or unpleasant might happen ความเสี่ยง
put at risk of - put in a situation where a dangerous event or situation might happen
instability - unstable, can change suddenly without notice, this makes it difficult to work with

fiscal instability - a situation in which budget deficits start growing very large (that is government revenue from taxes is not enough to cover government spending and large amounts of money must be borrowed to pay for it), this can happen when during a recession, government spending increases while tax revenues decline, and also by sharp increases in interest rates on government debt if the sovereign debt rating falls

party - political party

implemented - when a plan is put into action, actually doing the things in a plan
campaign - a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาสียง
implement campaign promises - take action to carry out campaign promises (and make them reality)

focus - think about and work on one thing (rather than waste time on many), concentrate time and attention on one thing ให้ความสำคัญ
impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
crackdown - strong action that someone in authority takes to stop a particular activity การใช้กำลังเข้าปราบปรามของเจ้าหน้าที่
protests - meetings, sometimes forceful or violent, or public statements by people who strongly disagree with something ชุมนุมประท้วง

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/350899/rice-body-looks-to-repay-baac

AGRICULTURE

Published: 20 May 2013 at 00.00

The National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC) will use the proceeds from selling pledged rice in the previous season to repay the state-own Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

The move will give the BAAC more cash to pay farmers mortgaging their paddy from the 2012-13 season, which runs from Oct 1, 2012 to Sept 15, 2013.

Earlier, the cabinet approved a 90-billion-baht revolving fund for the BAAC to manage the scheme, but that amount will likely prove insufficient.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said the fund is part of the 500-billion-baht revolving budget the government set aside earlier to fund the pledging scheme this year _ 410 billion borrowed from the Finance Ministry and 90 billion from the BAAC’s revolving fund.

But he expects the amount funding the rice plan this year will be lower, no more than 345 billion baht.

The minister said the government has so far used 200 billion baht to pledge 14 million tonnes of paddy from the first crop and another 30 billion covering 3 million tonnes from the second crop.

The current pledging scheme, which started in October 2011, pays farmers 20,000 baht a tonne for Hom Mali and 15,000 baht for white rice.

The BAAC is the authorised creditor for the scheme.

Mr Boonsong said the NRPC reported repaying the Finance Ministry 80 billion baht, and it hopes to return a total of 200 billion by year-end.

He expects this will provide enough liquidity for pledging grains in the next season, which is expected to see 27.5 million tonnes of paddy from the main crop.

Earlier last week, BAAC president Luck Wajananawat said the bank might ask the government to expand the 500-billion-baht revolving fund for financing the pledging scheme if the amount proves insufficient.

The revolving fund costs the government 3% in interest on average.

Mr Luck said almost all of the 410 billion baht has been spent, and what is left may be inadequate to finance the pledging scheme during the next harvest season.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/350455/sweet-outlook-for-cane

COMMODITIES

Published: 17 May 2013 at 00.00

Sugar cane output in Thailand, the world’s second-largest sugar exporter, could hit 150 million tonnes by 2020, up from 100 million now, provided sugar prices continue to be attractive, says trader Siam Brit Co.

Managing director Sopone Tirabanchasak said cane output in the 2012-13 crushing season reached a record high of 100 million tonnes, up from almost 98 million in the previous season.

Sugar output, however, has remained unchanged at 10 million tonnes, as the amount of commercially recoverable sugar fell from the previous season.

Cane planting areas increased by 1 million rai, up from 9 million last year.

“If cane planters get a price that is higher than their costs [about 1,000 baht a tonne] and global sugar prices remain in a range of 23-24 US cents per pound, then we will see Thailand’s cane output reach 150 million tonnes within seven years,” Mr Sopone told a seminar held by the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board on global sugar price trends.

It will be critical for Thailand to increase the quality of sugar to tap demand from Asian countries, he said.

From 2011-20, global sugar consumption is expected to grow by 30-35 million tonnes, with 21 million in Asia.

In 2011, Thailand exported 4.1 million tonnes of raw sugar and 2.5 million tonnes of white sugar. Asean accounts for 47% of Thai sugar exports, with East Asia consuming 27%.

“Once our cane production reaches 150 million tonnes, we will have to increase exports to neighbouring countries to lower freight prices and prevent leftover sugar,” said Mr Sopone.

If Thailand’s cane output reaches 150 million tonnes, 11.5 million will be exported, he said.

Sugar prices this year should not go lower than 16 cents a pound.

Raw sugar for delivery in July is at 16.95 cents per pound, the lowest in 34 months due to a global surplus.

An industry source said almost 20 sugar mills have submitted proposals to the Industry Ministry to expand, relocate or set up new mills.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/350388/sugar-falls-to-2010-low-on-brazil-thailand-output-cocoa-drops

Published: 16 May 2013 at 18.00

Sugar fell to the lowest level since 2010 in New York as cane processing surged in leading producer Brazil and in Thailand, the world’s second-largest exporter. Cocoa retreated and arabica coffee advanced.

Sugar cane processing in Thailand was just above 100 million metric tonnes by May 15, up from about 98 million tonnes a year earlier, according to data from the Office of Cane and Sugar Board. In Brazil’s centre south, the country’s main growing region, millers crushed 31.5 million tonnes of cane in the second half of April, compared with 9.4 million tonnes a year earlier, data from industry group Unica showed.

“The week kicked off with a higher than expected Brazilian sugarcane crush figure,” Christina McGlone, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG, said in a report e-mailed on Thursday. Producers in Thailand still have the incentive to plant more, she said.

Raw sugar for delivery in July fell 0.3% to 16.90 cents a pound by 6.17am on ICE Futures US in New York, the lowest since July 2010. Futures trading volume was 34% lower than the average for the past 100 days for this time of day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In London, white, or refined, sugar for delivery in August was down 0.4% to $475.60 a tonne on NYSE Liffe.

While Brazil said last month it will give tax breaks for mills in a bid to boost ethanol output, producers still directed 42% of all the cane processed to making sugar in the second half of April, up from 40.1% a year earlier, Unica data showed. Both sugar and ethanol are made from raw material sugar cane in the South American nation.

The cane allocation to sugar was larger than many had assumed, McGlone said. “This comes despite the price signal which should have encouraged a shift to ethanol.”

Ethanol Prices

The price of hydrous ethanol, the pure biofuel used in flex-fuel cars in Brazil, is set to drop relative to that of gasoline in the next week or two, prompting more consumption, according to a Deutsche Bank report e-mailed today. If hydrous ethanol falls to 60% the price of gasoline, that would mean a price of 16.5 cents a pound in sugar equivalent terms, the bank said.

Cocoa for July delivery slid 1.2% to $2,315 a tonne in New York. Cocoa for delivery in July fell 1.2% to 1,547 pounds ($2,355) a tonne in London.

Cocoa delivered against the expired May futures contract was 34,530 tonnes, NYSE Liffe said on its website on Thursday. That is lower than the 72,350 tonnes delivered when the March contract expired and compares with 44,010 tonnes in May last year.

Arabica coffee futures for July delivery gained 0.5% to $1.412 a pound on ICE. Robusta coffee futures for July delivery slid 0.3% to $2,047 a tonne in London.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/243306/rice-market-uncertainy-and-the-election

About agriculture

Published: 21 Jun 2011 at 19.29

If Pheu Thai wins the election and sets rice prices far above market prices, international orders might go elsewhere.

In the photo above, a man looks at rice grains at the Thailand Rice Convention 2011, held yesterday to showcase the premium quality of the local crop.

Click button to listen to Rice Price Jump and rightclick to download

Election set to see rice prices leap by Phusadee Arunmas

International rice traders are concerned about world rice prices skyrocketing if the new Thai government reinstates the rice mortgage scheme, causing buyers to divert their orders to other countries.

However, they believe that, whatever happens, the general election will be a factor in raisingdomestic rice prices.

At the Thailand Rice Convention 2011, held yesterday with participants from more than 50 countries, sources with foreign rice traders said rising prices stemming from the election was considered the most important issue.

The sources said rice will be more expensive if a renewed mortgage programme sets the price at 15,000 baht a tonne as has been promised. If local rice becomes too dear, African customers may shift their orders to Vietnam or Pakistan.

Korbsook Iamsuri, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA), said Thai rice prices have risen continuously, with paddy rice now at 9,000 to 9,500 baht a tonne and the free on board (FOB) price at US$580 to $590 a tonne.

This is due to the end of second crop production and some rice mills hoarding paddy to take a profit if the rice mortgage policy is reimplemented.

In the second half of this year, paddy is expected to reach 10,000 baht a tonne on a renewed rice mortgage policy, with an FOB price of $800 a tonne.

Most exporters prefer price guarantees to the rice mortgage scheme due to less market distortion by the former.

Ms Korbsook said the new government should help reduce farmers’ costs by distributing freefertiliser and seeds.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, the TREA’s honorary president, predicts exports will dropsignificantly, possibly to 400,000 tonnes a month, if the Pheu Thai Party makes good on its promise to reinstate the rice mortgage programme.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said Thailand exported almost 6 million tonnes in the first half and will possibly ship more than 10 million tonnes for the full year thanks to a goodharvest, with 20.3 million tonnes of milled rice on hand and demand still rising.

The government has a remaining stock of about a million tonnes for immediate sale.

The ministry is negotiating a government-to-government deal with Bangladesh, while Malaysia and China also have high demand.

Last year, Thai rice exports totalled 9.05 million tonnes for a value of $5.35 billion (169 billion baht), with an average price of $591 a tonne.

Prasert Kosalwit, director-general of the Rice Department, said local paddy production may climb to 32.4 million tonnes this year, up by 1.4 million tonnes from last year.

The department targets increasing production by 15% in 2015 from this year’s figure.

Jeremy Zwinger, president of the US trade publication The Rice Trader, said Thai rice exports may reach 14 million tonnes this year

(Source: Bangkok Post, Election set to see rice prices leap, 21/06/2011, Phusadee Arunmas,link)

showcase - to show the best qualities or parts of something แสดงจุดเด่นของสิ่งของหรือคน
premium quality - high quality
local - in this country (here: Thailand)

leap - to make a large jump or sudden movement, usually from one place to another กระโดด
skyrocket - to suddenly increase by a very large amount

traders - people who buy and sell things as a business

concerned - worried about something มีความกังวล
mortgage - a loan, a legal agreement in which you borrow money from a bank การจำนอง
rice mortgage scheme -  the system used in the past to make sure that farmers got a decent price for their rice

scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
divert - to use something for a different purpose เบี่ยงเบน

election - the process of choosing a person or a group of person for a position, especially by voting elect (v) electoral (adj) synonym: the polls การเลือกตั้ง
general election - a large national election with candidates chosen in all constituencies (SeeWikipedia)
constituency - a group of voters in one small area of the country that vote an MP to parliament (vote a representative to the legislature)
factor - a fact or situation which influences the result of something ปัจจัย
domestic - within the country ภายในประเทศ
issue - a subject or problem that people discuss or argue about ประเด็น

renewed - started again
renewed programme - a government programme that is started again (after stopping for a period of time)
shift - to transfer; to move from one place to another เคลื่อนย้าย
becomes too dear - becomes too expensive
paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก

free on board (FOB) price - “means that the seller pays for transportation of the goods to the port of shipment, plus loading costs. The buyer pays cost of marine freight transport, insurance, unloading, and transportation from the arrival port to the final destination. The passing of risks occurs when the goods pass the ship’s rail at the port of shipment” (SeeWikipedia)

rice mills - factories that prepare rice crops (paddy) for sale in stores (dehusking, packaging, etc)
reimplement policy - start policy again
hoarding - buying a lot of something and keeping it without using it (because you expect the price to go up in the future) กักตุน
hoarding paddy - keeping a lot of rice without selling it
profit - money that you make from selling goods and services after all your costs have been paid กำไร
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)

distributing - sending a product out to many stores for sale to many customers
fertiliser - food for plants, a natural or chemical substance which is spread on the land or given to plants, to make plants grow well ปุ๋ย  (See Wikipedia)
honorary president - made president to honour an important person (may not perform all the tedious day to day operations of the organization)
significantly - in an important way อย่างสำคัญ
reinstate - to cause something to exist again นำกลับมาใช้อีก

harvest - gathering fully grown crops from the field การเก็บเกี่ยวผลผลิต
demand - the need and desire to buy goods and services by households and businesses
ministry - a government department dealing with an area of activity กระทรวง
stock - an amount of something that you keep so that you can use it when you need it ที่เก็บไว้ในสต๊อก
immediate - right now, without delay
immediate sale - selling right now, without delay

targets - goals or levels you plan to achieve
figure - an amount of money จำนวนเงิน

trade - 1. the buying and selling of goods การค้าขาย, 2. a specialized area of business (example: the tourist trade, the a jeweller by trade, a trade union for brick layers)
trader - a person or company that buys and sells things for a living
trade publication - a magazine or newspaper for people who work in a trade (some specialized area of business)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/242013/agricultural-r-d-to-reduce-income-inequality

About agriculture

Published: 13 Jun 2011 at 15.11

Political strife and world economic crisis put brakes on development recently. Best bet for Thai agriculture is R&D for increased productivity.

As an example of agricultural R&D in action (the topic of today’s article), Thailand recently decided to stop using the insecticides that may be the cause of pest outbreaks. This waspraised by the International Rice Research Institute in Manila, an organization at the forefront of agricultural R&D: “Abamectin and cypermethrin are widely used in rice-growing nations to kill pests but scientists believe the chemicals are the main cause of brown plant hopper outbreaks because they also kill natural predators” (From “End to insecticide use welcomed,” Bangkok Post, 05-06-11, page 4 and IRRI press release).

Read a previous Bangkok Post article on the regional income inequality in Thailand related to today’s article here.

Click button to listen to Farm Reform and rightclick to download

DEVELOPMENT: Farm reform to bridge gap by Chatrudee Theparat, Business Reporter

Thailand’s agricultural sector needs a major overhaul to increase the value of farm products and promote energy crops, organic farming, and research and development to increase productivity, says the state planning agency.

Agricultural reform could be the best solution to help narrow the income gap between the haves and have-nots, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

The income gap has narrowed but the rate is still far from the target set in the 10th five-year plan that ends later this year, said Thanin Pa-em, the deputy secretary-general of the NESDB.

The plan aimed to reduce the income gap between the richest 20% of the population and the poorest 20% to about 10 times by September 2011.

The gap was 14.3 times in 2006 and narrowed to 11.9 times in 2009, partly because of the government’s measures to help low-income earners.

In 2009, the richest 20% accounted for 54.39% of the country’s income and the poorest 20% had 4.56%.

Most of the poorest group are engaged in agriculture and lack access to financial services. They also face high production costs, lack technology, and have relatively low education.

The agriculture sector accounted for 11.63% of GDP in 2009, employing 14.69 million people out of a total labour force of 38.97 million

The proportion of people under the poverty line - defined as 1,386 baht a month – in 2006 was 9.95% out of a population of 63.4 million. In 2009 the proportion was 8.12% of 63.5 million, with the poverty line set at 1,579 baht a month.

According to the NESDB study, domestic political strife between 2008 and 2010 and theworld economic crisis put brakes on Thailand’s economic and social development.

It said productivity grew 2.1% in 2007, but then contracted by 0.29% in 2008 and 4.46% in 2009, mainly due to political conflict and the slowing economy.

The plan aimed to increase productivity by 3% a year.

Investment in research and development averaged only 0.21% to GDP between 2007 and 2009, well below the target of 0.5% and compared with 2-3% in most developed countries.

Logistics cost as a proportion of GDP was 18.8% in 2007 and 17.9% in 2010, also far short of the NESDB’s goal to cut the figure to 13% by this year.

The final draft of the 11th plan, to run from Oct 1 this year to Sept 30, 2016, will soon be ready for public hearings.

(Source: DEVELOPMENT, Farm reform to bridge gap, 13/06/2011, Chatrudee Theparat, Business Reporter, link)

Income Inequality Vocabulary 

inequality, income inequality, economic inequality - when most of a country’s income and assets are possessed by a small group of people, not spread equally over the whole population like it is in many European countries like Sweden and Switzerland (See a colour-coded map of world economic inequality as measured by the Gini coefficients and also Wikipedia on income inequality and income inequality metrics).
regional income inequality - when some regions of a country (Bangkok) are much richer than other areas (Isan)

Gini index, Gini coefficient - a measure of inequality (in income or consumption expenditure here) rich western countries are usually around 0.3, Latin America is the worst around 0.5  (See The Economist on Gini Coefficient and Inequality and Wikipedia)

income distribution - how a country’s total income economy is distributed amongst its population (either equally or unequally) (See Wikipedia) การกระจายรายได้

best bet - the choice with the best possible outcome (all outcomes are uncertain, making a decision under uncertainty is like placeing a “bet” or gambling)

insecticide - chemicals that kill insects (pests) that are dangerous to crops (See Wikipedia)
abamectin - a widely used insecticide (See Wikipedia)
cypermethrin - a widely used insecticide (See Wikipedia)

pests - insects and small animals that damage crops
brown plant hopper - a small insect that feeds on rice plants, there were numerous brown planthopper outbreaks in South East Asia in the 1980s, in 2005-2008, and new ones are expected, in 2010 and 2011 further outbreaks have been reported in Thailand and Indonesia, excessive use of urea as nitrogenous fertilizer and insecticides can lead to outbreaks by increasing the fecundity of the brown planthopper, and by reducing populations of natural enemies (See Wikipedia)

predator - an animal that kills and eats other animals
natural predators - predators that do the same thing as insecticides in the state of nature when humans are not involved (humans by using insecticides can kill natural predators which can lead to infestations like the brown plant hopper)
outbreak - when something bad suddenly starts to happen (examples: disease outbreak, outbreak of violence, outbreak of war, outbreak of pests)

Research and Development (R&D) - the process of of studying a subject in detail (with experiments perhaps) and creating new, improved ways of doing things and new products (See Wikipedia)
agricultural R&D - research and development aimed at improving productivity in agriculture (See Wikipedia on agricultural extension)
at the forefront - the most advanced, ahead of the rest

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) - a world famous rice research institute located in the Philippines, famous for being the source of the research that started the green revolution, rice research institute established in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations in cooperation with the Government of Philippine government, developed new breeds of rice (See website and Wikipedia)

green revolution - applied agricultural research in the 1960s that resulted in high yielding varieites of maize, wheat, and rice that allowed food production to keep pace with worldwide population growth (See Wikipedia)

reform - improvement, a change that is intended to correct a situation that is wrong or unfair การแก้ไข การปฏิรูป

gap - a large difference between people or groups (here: a difference in income and wealth) ช่องว่าง
bridge gap - reduce the gap so that it does not exist, eliminate the gap (so there there is no or little difference in income and wealth)

sector - a part of the economy ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,…) (SeeWikipedia)
agricultural sector - all farms and farmers in the economy, as well as farm-related businesses

overhaul - to improve something so that every part of it works properly, repair completely and rebuild ปรับปรุงใหม่

promote - take steps to make people start doing an activity more 
energy crops - crops such as sugar or cassava that are used to make ethanol that is mixed with gasoline to reduce reliance on imported oil
organic farming - farming that does not use factory-made chemicals for fertilizer (plant food), pesticides (to kill insects) and herbicides (to kill weeds)

productivity - producing more with the same amount of inputs (labour, energy, etc) การผลิตสินค้า

state - government รัฐ
state planning agency - an agency of the central government that creates long-term plans for the economic development of the whole country (such as a “five-year plan”)

National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) - (“Sa-pa-pat”) Thailand’s state planning agency that makes long-term plans for economic development, creates five year plans with an agenda of: 1. Alleviation of Poverty and Income Distribution problems, 2. Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness, 3. Promoting Social Capital Development, 4. Promoting Sustainable Development (See Wikipedia)

five-year plan - the long-term economic development plans that state planning agencies typically make (also make 10-year plans) (See Wikipedia)

narrow (noun) – not wide; having a small distance from one side to the other, especially in comparison with the length แคบ
narrow (verb) - make narrower, reduce width 
income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
income gap - the difference in income between two groups of people (for example, the rich and the very poor)
income gap has narrowed - meaning: there is less of a difference in incomes of rich and poor

the haves and have-nots - the people who are not poor (haves) and the people who are poor (have-nots)

rate - the level or speed at which something happens or changes อัตรา
target - a goal เป้าหมาย

population - all the people who live in a country (or a city or some area of the country)
measures - actions that are intended to achieve goals or deal with a problem มาตราการ
engaged - actively involved in an activity sss
lack - do not have ขาดแคลน
access - the right or opportunity to have or use something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้

financial services - the business of dealing with money for people or providing advice about money and investments (includes loans, insurance, banking for business, credit cards, etc) (note: one reason why even people with decent incomes in the informal sector cannot get loans is because they do not pay income tax, therefore there is no official record of the income they earn and no credit rating that could secure them a loan) (See Wikipedia)

GDP - Gross Domestic Product, the total value of all goods and services produced by a country in one year (See Wikipedia)
labour force - all the people working in an economy (or actively seeking work, if temporarily unemployed)
proportion - the percentage or part of the whole population (for which something is true)
poverty - the condition of being extremely poor ความจน
poverty line - the level of income in a country that officially indicates poverty (in Thailand 1,576 baht per month)
under the poverty line - officially classified as “poor” by the government (when a family makes less than the amount that indicates “poverty”)

domestic - within the country ภายในประเทศ
strife - disagreement or fighting between people or groups การขัดแย้งกัน, การต่อสู้กั
domestic political strife - disagreements and fighting over politics inside the country

crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤตการณ์
world economic crisis - the period of near economic collapse and slowdown of the world economy in 2008 (See Wikipedia)
put brakes on - make slow down or stop
contracted - became smaller, shrunk
conflict - an angry disagreement between people or groups ความขัดแย้ง ความไม่ลงรอยกัน

logistics - the process of moving goods from factory to warehouse to stores
far short of goal - did not reach goal, goal far from being achieved, did not even come close
figure - an amount of money จำนวนเงิน

draft - to write a document, plan, etc. that may be changed before it is finally accepted (revisions and changes will be made to teh document) ร่าง
final draft - the last revision to a document (the next copy will be the actual document, not a draft)

hearings - an official meeting to collect facts about a situation or problem
public hearings - a hearing that the general public (including the media) is invited to watch,  hear and know about

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/349733/royal-oxen-choose-maize-and-grass-at-royal-ploughing-ceremony

Published: 13 May 2013 at 10.56

Traditional soothsayers predicted good harvests, abundant food production and plentiful water at the Royal Ploughing Ceremony at Sanam Luang near the Grand Palace on Monday morning.

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is presided over by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is accompanied by the royal consort, Princess Srirasmi, on Monday.

The ceremony was presided over by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was accompanied by the royal consort, Princess Srirasmi.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, government officials and a large crowd, including many farmers, attended the ceremony.

Chawalit Chukhachorn, the permanent secretary for agriculture and cooperatives, performed as Phraya Raek Na or the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony.

Phraya Raek Na led two sacred oxen, Fah and Sai, to plough a furrow in the ceremonial ground.

Four consecrated ladies in the procession carrying gold and silver baskets filled with rice seeds scattered them into the newly ploughed furrow.  Walking alongside the plough were official Brahmans from the Royal Court who chanted and blew conch shells.

The sacred oxen were offered seven bowls containing grass, paddy, maize, sesame seeds, soy bean, water and liquor.

The oxen ate maize and grass. The Brahmin seers predicted a good harvest, an abundance of food and plentiful water.

Phraya Raek Na was offered three pieces of folded cloth, each of a different length. The one he selected proved to be four kuebs long (four handspans, about one metre).

Based on his selection, water will be plentiful, crops on higher ground will yield good harvests and those in low-lying areas will be slightly damaged.

Rice seeds were strewn over the ceremonial ground after the ceremony, and the crowd rushed to gather them up. The ceremonial grains are considered an auspicious start to the rice planting season. Some people sell them. The price is said to be about 10 baht a grain in rural areas.

The ceremony has been performed in Thailand since the Sukhothai period, some 700 years ago, and is closely watched by farmers across the country.

---

Photos by Chanat Katanyu

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/350073/east-west-seed-plants-revenue-goal

AGRICULTURE

Published: 15 May 2013 at 00.00

East-West Seed, the Netherlands-based tropical vegetable seed firm, expects its Thai revenue will increase by 25% a year from 2015, driven by increased exports and a focus on high-value seeds.

Last year, revenue of the local operation grew by 15% to 950 million baht including 350 million in export revenue.

Exports are projected at 420 million baht this year, with domestic sales reaching 700 million.

Bert van der Feltz, the general manager of East-West Seed International Ltd, said exports will likely surpass domestic sales soon, as the already-saturated Thai market can muster annual growth of no more than 15%.

Within five years, exports will account for 60% of total output in Thailand, he said. Big export markets include India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Central America.

“Thailand has potential in Southeast Asia because it has knowledge, so if the government is really supportive [of the industry], it can win on knowledge,” said Mr van der Feltz.

Indonesia contributes 20% of the group’s Asean revenue, followed by the Philippines and Thailand.

But Indonesia is behind Thailand in terms of knowledge development, said Mr van der Feltz.

“It’s a race between Indonesia and Thailand, but you [Thailand] could [become the market leader in Asean] in five or seven years. But you have to do the right thing,” he said.

Joost Pekelharing, the president of East-West Seed ROH Ltd, a unit of East-West Seed Thailand, said plans are for this country to produce more high-value seeds such as chillies, tomatoes and eggplant that require precise work and greater expertise on the part of farmers.

Hybrid seeds are harder to produce than bulk seeds, which are much cheaper.

“In Thailand, our volume will lessen but the value will go up, while bulk seeds will be produced in other countries like Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines,” he said.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said Southeast Asians eat 50-60 kilogrammes of vegetables per person a year, less than the 100-200 kg for Europeans, North Americans and Japanese.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/349785/rubber-boom-fuelling-se-asia-land-grabs-report

Published: 13 May 2013 at 18.49

Vietnamese rubber firms bankrolled by an arm of the World Bank and Germany’s Deutsche Bank are driving a land-grabbing crisis in Southeast Asia, activists said Monday.

Undated handout image taken in 2013 and received on May 13, 2013 from environmental group Global Witness shows a woman and her son walking through community rice fields that they lost to a rubber plantation in Laos. Vietnamese rubber firms bankrolled by an arm of the World Bank and Germany’s Deutsche Bank are driving a land-grabbing crisis in Southeast Asia, activists said Monday.

Indigenous ethnic minorities are bearing the brunt of the seizures, which have affected tens of thousands of villagers and led to the clearance of swathes of protected forests, according to campaign group Global Witness.

Vietnam, the world’s third-largest rubber producer, is keen to tap surging demand for the commodity in particular from China, which is hungry for car tyres and other rubber goods as its economy booms.

Global Witness accused two firm, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), of driving forced evictions via subsidiaries linked to government cronies in impoverished — and notoriously corrupt — Cambodia and Laos.

According to the report, Deutsche Bank has multi-million dollar holdings in both companies, while the International Finance Corp. (IFC) — the World Bank’s private lending arm — invests in HAGL through financial intermediaries.

More than 1.2 million hectares (2.96 million acres) of land in Cambodia alone have been leased for rubber plantations, Global Witness said, with some 400,000 people affected by land grabs for rubber and other uses since 2003.

“The governments in Cambodia and Laos are allocating large areas of land and ignoring laws designed to protect human rights and the environment,” according to the report.

“Often the first people know about either company being given their land is when the bulldozers arrive,” it said.

Global Witness urged Cambodia and Laos to suspend all dealings with the two firms and their subsidiaries.

It called on Deutsche Bank and the IFC to withdraw their multi-million dollar funding if the two companies fail to take steps to comply with human rights and environmental standards within the next six months.

In response, Deutsche Bank said an “intensive due diligence process” was conducted before the shares were bought on behalf of its investors.

The IFC declined to comment ahead of the report’s release, saying Global Witness had not shared its full findings in advance.

The two Vietnamese companies denied any illegal activities.

“We contribute to the development of the local economy by paying necessary taxes… creating jobs for tens of thousands of local residents, and contributing to local communities,” HAGL said in a statement.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/349451/no-extension-for-cassava-subsidy-as-demand-rebounds

AGRICULTURE

Published: 11 May 2013 at 00.00

The government will not extend the cassava subsidy for the 2012-13 season, as tapioca prices have recovered amid high demand for its use in alternative energy, especially in China.

The move is also aimed at preventing unscrupulous traders who have been found hoarding cassava to participate in the government’s pledging scheme.

The ruling was reached yesterday by the Tapioca Policy Committee.

But Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the government is uncertain about whether to continue the cassava scheme for in 2013-14.

The government allocated 44 billion baht to subsidise cassava root for the 2012-13 crop.

Under the pledging scheme, which ran from Oct 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013, the state initially paid 2.50 baht a kilogramme for cassava root, raising the amount by five satang each month until it reached 2.70 baht at the end of the buying programme.

The purchasing goal is estimated at 10 million tonnes of cassava root, with 9.97 million tonnes of cassava root pledged out of total production of 24 million tonnes.

Cassava root is quoted at 2.70 to three baht per kg, tapioca chips at 7.10 baht per kg and starch at 14 baht per kg. The government describes the prices as high.

Ms Wiboonlasana said the prices of tapioca are expected to stay relatively high this year thanks to higher global demand for ethanol.

In a separate development, a panel supervising the rice pledging scheme chaired by Vatchari Vimooktayon, the commerce permanent secretary, reported the scheme bought 2.7 million tonnes of paddy for the 2012-13 second crop out of a target of 7 million tonnes.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/349292/doubts-over-new-palm-intervention

AGRICULTURE

Published: 10 May 2013 at 00.00

The government is being urged to speed up crude palm oil exports, which exporters believe would be a more effective tool for raising domestic palm product prices.

Wiwan Boonyaprateeprat, secretary-general of the Thai Oil Palm and Palm Oil Association, said the government’s ongoing attempt at price intervention is doing little to help boost palm prices.

“The government’s intervention is fruitless, as fresh palm nut prices remain at a relatively low 2.20 baht per kilogramme,” she said.

The National Oil Palm Policy Committee last December agreed to buy palm nuts at 4 baht per kg for those with 17% oil content and 4.35 baht for 18.5% oil content.

The Public Warehouse Organization then bought 50,000 tonnes of crude palm oil at 25 baht per kg for state stocks, or 1.25 billion baht.

Thailand is projected to control up to 360,000 tonnes of crude palm oil, with plans to buy another 50,000 tonnes shortly to shore up local prices.

The purchases, approved yesterday by a panel on oil palm marketing chaired by Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, will take place between next Wednesday and June 30.

Ms Wiwan said farmers will not benefit much from this new intervention, as farmers are required to hold land title deeds to participate. Most oil palm farmers just hold Por Bor Tor 5 documents, which bestow rights of possession that are recognised only if tax payments are made at the Local Administrative Office.

“The government instead needs to speed up discharging its hefty stocks, probably at a loss since the market price for crude palm oil is now quoted at 21-22 baht per kg,” said Ms Wiwan.

“An appropriate stock level for domestic consumption is only 200,000 tonnes, meaning there is a 160,000-tonne surplus.”

Sittiporn Jariyapong, vice-chairman of the National Farmers Council, urged the government to extend participation rights in the scheme to all farmers, with 4.4 million rai already planted.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/349297/bright-outlook-for-organic-products

Food

Published: 10 May 2013 at 00.00

Thai organic products are expected to flourish in both domestic and export markets despite looming threats from the strong baht and the sluggish global economy.

A woman checks out organic fruit on display at the Organic & Natural Expo 2013 hosted by the Commerce Ministry. The event runs through Sunday in Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. SOMCHAI POOMLARD

Vitoon Panyakul, president of the Thailand Organic Trade Association (Tota), said exports are expected to grow by 10-15% this year to about 2 billion baht.

Europe remains the key market, accounting for up to 80% of shipments, followed by the US (10%) and Australia/New Zealand.

Major products are organic rice, which accounts for half the products, with fruit, vegetables, processed food and coconut milk making up the remainder.

Mr Vitoon said the domestic market for organic products is also strong, as more consumers become health-conscious.

Vitoon: More healthconscious consumers

The Thai market will reach an estimated value of 2 billion baht this year, a rise of 10% from last year.

However, Mr Vitoon said the domestic market’s growth is relatively slow, as many people have shifted to consume more health foods even though they are not organic.

Organic products are mostly now available only in supermarkets.

Expansion into standalone outlets remains difficult due to stiff competition from discount stores that can sell products at much cheaper prices.

Tota’s latest survey showed the farming area of organic products expanded from 192,220 to 212,995 rai in 2010. Most was slated for growing rice, covering 138,326 rai.

Despite an increase in the number of consumers of organic produce, the expansion of farm areas is relatively slow, as farmers are growing older and their children are shying away from farming, Mr Vitoon said.

He said the government’s rice pledging scheme, which offers farmers above-market prices, has been a big blow to organic product development.

Deputy commerce permanent secretary Nuntawan Sakuntanaga said the outlook for organic products remains bright despite the challenge of the strong baht.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/349171/rubber-jumps-to-2-month-high-as-thai-export-curb-bolsters-prices

Published: 9 May 2013 at 10.55

Rubber futures jumped to their highest level in almost two months after shipment restrictions by Thailand, the world’s largest exporter, boosted cash prices above the benchmark contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

A tapper scrapes bark off a rubber tree, to collect the oozing latex in a small cup attached to the trunk below. (Photo by Pinit Jarusombat)

Rubber for delivery in October climbed as much as 3.3% to 285.2 yen a kilogramme (US$2,884 a metric tonne) on the Tokyo bourse, the highest level for a most-active contract since March 13. Futures traded at 279.8 yen at 10.16am, paring this year’s losses to 7.5%.

Thai rubber free-on-board rose 0.3% to 89.10 baht ($3) a kilogramme on Wednesday, the highest level since March 12, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand. It was a 13% rebound from this year’s low of 79 baht reached on April 19. Thailand, the biggest rubber producer, extended curbs on exports by 60 days to the end of May to boost prices, Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Yuttapong Charasathien said last month.

“Futures in Tokyo corrected higher as the market is undervalued compared with Thai cash prices,” Hideshi Matsunaga, an analyst at broker ACE Koeki Co in Tokyo, said by phone on Thursday.

Thailand aims to lower shipments of rubber by 10% through May to help support prices, Mr Yuttapong said on April 11. The government has no immediate plan to sell rubber from stockpiles, he said.

Rubber for delivery in September on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 0.6% to 20,380 yuan ($3,318) a tonne.