Thailand has signed deals with China to supply rice and rubber, alongside a major railway deal
Thailand will supply China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (Cofco) with 100,000 tonnes of rice per month starting January, stated the nation’s commerce minister Apiradi Tantraporn.
Meanwhile, the Rubber Authority of Thailand has agreed to sell 200,000 tonnes of rubber to Chinese state-owned entity Sinochem.
The deals have been signed at the Joint Committee on Railway Cooperation in Bangkok.
Thai agriculture officials are concerned with the effects of El Nino that has lead to reduced global production, leading to importers stocking up on reserves. The Thai Rice Exporters Association honorary president Chookiat Ophaswongse estimated that Thailand’s rice production would be reduced to half of the country’s off-season output to around four million tonnes.
Due to this, the ministry is open to signing government-to-government rice export deals with many countries, including Iran.
Meanwhile, the Thai Rubber Association statistics (as of September 2015), show that the country produced 3.12mn MT of rubber while it exported 2.7mn MT, with around 392,661 MT for local consumption and 489,052 MT as stock reserve.
