Five ink deal to form rice cartel

AGRICULTURE

Goal is to boost price by 10% annually

Published: 23 Aug 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Business

Five Asean rice-producing countries are joining forces to form a regional alliance with the ambitious goal to boost rice prices by 10% annually.

Yanyong: 10% price rise acceptable

Trade ministers from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos are scheduled to sign the agreement later this year to establish the Asean Rice Federation, said Yanyong Phuangrach, the commerce permanent secretary.

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DickFarang
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Discussion 17 : 23 Aug 2012 at 14.4517
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Sounds like wishful thinking.
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bikeme
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Discussion 16 : 23 Aug 2012 at 11.3616
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A cartel will work ONLY if all of the major rice producers are members. But with two major growers, India & the USA outside the cartel, they will have very little leverage. They could use the association for marketing or as mentioned in the article inter-country processing deals.

But in the long run, many people depend on rice for food, they buy it to survive, not because it tastes better. And when push comes to shove, they will buy the cheaper India or US rice, if the cartel over prices the better tasting SE Asian rice.

It would be nice if this government would think their plans through BEFORE they open their big mouths.
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samut
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Discussion 15 : 23 Aug 2012 at 10.5215
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“Thailand will also import Cambodian paddy to be milled for exports, which will increase the rice value.” This is already happening; rice bought in Cambodia and paid in Thailand; wow this is great business.
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dao
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Discussion 14 : 23 Aug 2012 at 10.4014
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Dont over estimate the value of rice .Are we trying to destroy other peoples market now as well as their own ?
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johninbkk
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Discussion 13 : 23 Aug 2012 at 10.3913
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I can see this falling apart in the details. There are always strong financial incentives to violate OPEC-like agreements. It's likely to also violate WTO agreements.
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meme
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Discussion 12 : 23 Aug 2012 at 10.2312
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"He said a 10% rise each year is acceptable and will not have significant effect on consumers."

This could only happen in Puea Thaksin land.
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bern1005
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Discussion 11 : 23 Aug 2012 at 09.2711
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In terms of exports, this looks just about possible but when you look at total world production of about 500 million tonnes you can see that the ASEAN group is relatively small (because big consumers are also BIG producers). If the price goes up then other countries outside ASEAN only need relatively modest percentage increases to compensate for the rice sales manipulations. In addition, holding back exports means that large stocks must be kept and (unlike oil and other commodities) rice deteriorates when kept long times.
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Sparkler
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Discussion 10 : 23 Aug 2012 at 08.5910
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I cannot believe the reasoning here a 10% increase each year is ok? Nobody will notice? Really? After 10 years the price will be doubled, nobody will notice? Yeah right,....
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nedkelly
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Discussion 9 : 23 Aug 2012 at 08.459
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Where is the WTO while this is happening? One of the reasons for the establishment of the WTO was to put a stop to cartels and price fixing/gouging. Another useless spinoff of the US owned UN.
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kenny
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Discussion 8 : 23 Aug 2012 at 08.268
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Looks like the answer to the failed rice pledging scheme has been found. What happened to free trade? form a cartel and control the price............ yer right the world will accept this
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