Thailand, RI in rice barter

Thailand, RI in rice barter

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand and Indonesia have agreed in principle to a counter-trade deal for the sale of Thai rice to Jakarta to be paid in terms of some goods, including crude oil, a commerce ministry official said yesterday.

"Yes, there has been discussion and we have agreed in principle that this will happen," said Duangporn Rodphaya, head of the ministry's foreign trade department.

"But they have to give us a list of goods they want to include in counter-trade and crude oil is one of the items," the official told Reuters.

However, she said details of how much rice would be bartered had not been decided yet. Indonesia has imported almost one million tons of Thai rice since the beginning of this year.

"The talks have not yet been concluded, but they will be discussed further by our representatives there (in Jakarta)," she added.

Thailand has been the biggest supplier of rice to Indonesia so far.