The Economic Times (India)
MADRID: The Asian Development Bank is opposed to any OPEC-style rice cartel grouping Thailand, the world's biggest exporter, and four other Asian nations, its president said on Saturday.
"Agricultural markets should be market oriented. It would not be good for exporters and it certainly would not be good for importers," ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said on the sidelines of the bank's annual general meeting in Madrid.
"What is most important is that we increase agricultural productivity in the medium and long term," he told a news conference when asked about the proposed rice cartel.
Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Wednesday his country had agreed in principle to form a rice price-fixing group with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to give them more control over international rice prices.
The group would be similar to the oil cartel OPEC, and would be called the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC).
World rice prices have soared this year, a trend blamed on higher energy and fertiliser costs, greater global demand, droughts, the loss of rice farmland to biofuel plantations, and price speculation.
The benchmark Thai variety, Pathumthani fragrant rice, was priced last Wednesday at USD 998 per tonne for export, up from USD 512 in January this year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said in a survey.
The rise in prices has been felt more strongly in import-dependent countries.
Over the past year domestic rice prices doubled in Bangladesh and Cambodia, and increased by 70 per cent in Afghanistan, 55 per cent in Sri Lanka and 40 per cent in the Philippines, according to the ABN.
"Agricultural markets should be market oriented. It would not be good for exporters and it certainly would not be good for importers," ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said on the sidelines of the bank's annual general meeting in Madrid.
"What is most important is that we increase agricultural productivity in the medium and long term," he told a news conference when asked about the proposed rice cartel.
Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Wednesday his country had agreed in principle to form a rice price-fixing group with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to give them more control over international rice prices.
The group would be similar to the oil cartel OPEC, and would be called the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC).
World rice prices have soared this year, a trend blamed on higher energy and fertiliser costs, greater global demand, droughts, the loss of rice farmland to biofuel plantations, and price speculation.
The benchmark Thai variety, Pathumthani fragrant rice, was priced last Wednesday at USD 998 per tonne for export, up from USD 512 in January this year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said in a survey.
The rise in prices has been felt more strongly in import-dependent countries.
Over the past year domestic rice prices doubled in Bangladesh and Cambodia, and increased by 70 per cent in Afghanistan, 55 per cent in Sri Lanka and 40 per cent in the Philippines, according to the ABN.
3 comments:
Yes we need to form OREC to protect our economies, especially to pay for sky rocketting energy cost. The ADB president put his foot in his mouth by saying that there should not be a OREC cartel. He said that this cartel is bad for importer and experter. He should tell this same thing to the oil cartel countries, to stop price gouging. Since 2004 to 2008 oil price has risen 3 times, from $40 to $120 a barrel. The price of rice has changed little. Yet the cost of producing rice has gone through the roof.
should include all 10 asean countries, not just 4. this is why some are disagreeing with this rice cartel. talk about greed by thailand? remember most of asia eat rice as staple food.
It is about time we ASEAN rice producers(except the Phillipines and Indonesia)get greedy. We have been ripped off by the oil cartel for a long time.Tell OPEC to stop being greedy. We should sell our rice at world market price, according to the price and demand.
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