World Grain - August 2015 - 88

RICE NEWS ROUNDUP

Thailand confident rice exports will hit 10-million-tonne target
BANGKOK, THAILAND - The Thailand Ministry of Commerce
said in July that this year's rice exports are likely to reach the target
of 10 million tonnes as the drought scare has made the global rice
market less competitive.
According to Foreign Trade Department Director-General
Duangporn Rodphaya, rice exports during the second half of the
year are expected to jump thanks to internal and external factors. The
lengthy dry season has led to a drop in the country's rice production,
while worries about drought-led food shortages have prompted other
rice producers to trim their exports and pushed some countries to
begin to stockpile food.

Duangporn said Thai rice had the opportunity to be in great demand,
adding that auctions of the government's rice stocks should enjoy bigger
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still needed to manage the rice stocks carefully and maintain the safety
stock of at least 5 million tonnes to ensure food security.
She also disclosed that a number of importers showed interest in
an auction of Thai rice between July and August during which time
around 900,000 tonnes of rice is expected to be sold. An auction of
substandard rice is also in the pipeline. The Foreign Trade Department
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year's target of 10 million tons.

Japan considers import quota for Australian rice
TOKYO, JAPAN - The Japanese government is considering setting
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Partnership multilateral free trade negotiations, the Jiji press reported
on July 9.
A rice import quota is a focal point also between Japan and the U.S.,
which had resumed bilateral working-level TPP-related talks in Tokyo.
Rice trade is the biggest issue for Japan in the TPP negotiations.
Japan initially aimed to set an overall rice import quota for not only
the U.S. and Australia but also Vietnam and other countries participating
in the TPP talks. But Tokyo gave up the plan due to opposition from the
U.S. and is now considering establishing an import quota for the U.S.

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and Australia, informed sources told the wire service.
Japan currently imports 770,000 tonnes of rice per year without tariffs
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1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round global trade liberalization talks.
Of the total, 360,000 tonnes are from the U.S. and 10,000 tonnes from
Australia.
In the bilateral TPP talks, the U.S. is demanding that Japan set a
quota of 175,000 tonnes for U.S. rice for consumption as staple food, in
exchange for its acceptance of the current Japanese tariffs on foreign rice.
Japan hopes to limit the quota to 50,000 tonnes to fend off downward
pressure on domestic rice prices.

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