The government has expanded the G2G rice sale to China by an additional 220,000 tons, with the final delivery to be completed by 2026.
A news report from the Government House revealed that the government has approved the expansion of the state-to-state rice trade volume under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Agricultural Product Trade Cooperation, signed on December 19, 2014. The additional volume is 220,000 tons. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce proposed this to the Cabinet, which has already approved it.
The Cabinet has instructed the Ministry of Commerce to draft an amendment to the state-to-state rice trade agreement under the MoU, following the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Commerce and other relevant agencies are to consider the opinions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) for further action.
This action follows the signing of the MoU between the Thai and Chinese governments on December 19, 2014, for agricultural product trade cooperation. China agreed to purchase 1 million tons of new rice and 1 million tons of rice from Thailand’s state stock. Later, both sides signed a state-to-state rice trade agreement for 1 million tons of new rice under the MoU. The Department of Foreign Trade has delivered 8 batches of rice to the Chinese government through COFCO Corporation, totaling 720,000 tons, with 280,000 tons remaining to be delivered. The agreement has been amended 10 times, with the latest extension of the final delivery date to 2026.
Subsequently, the Chinese government, through COFCO Corporation, expressed interest in purchasing an additional 500,000 tons of rice from Thailand, comprising 280,000 tons of remaining stock and an additional 220,000 tons, to be conducted under the existing state-to-state rice trade agreement. Both sides agreed to amend the agreement to accommodate the additional volume and extend the final delivery date to 2026.
The Ministry of Commerce views this expansion as a significant change beyond the agreed volume of 1 million tons of new rice approved by the Cabinet. Therefore, to ensure a smooth, correct, and complete process in line with relevant laws and regulations, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed this to the Cabinet for consideration.
Additionally, the Cabinet has been informed of the guidelines for negotiating and drafting state-to-state rice trade agreements, including key principles, negotiation and agreement procedures, and disclosure of information in such agreements.
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