Thais to revive rice cartel

Thais to revive rice cartel

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
plans to resurrect a discarded agreement to form an "OPEC-like"
rice cartel with Vietnam during an official visit to Hanoi on
April 25, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

The spokesman said Thaksin would like to raise the issue with
his Vietnamese counterparts during his one-day visit.

"Thailand, as the world's largest rice exporter, and Vietnam,
as the world's second largest rice exporter, should form a rice
group like OPEC," the spokesman said.

Thailand and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding last
September to set up a "rice pool" of 200,000 tons of low-grade
rice to avoid price undercutting and to stabilize export prices,
but the deal fell apart.

The Thai government of then Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
blamed Vietnam for unilaterally altering the pact to cover 15
percent broken rice, instead of the 25 percent variety as
previously agreed.

Thaksin, whose landslide election victory was boosted by
widespread support from farmers and rural voters, said rice
farmers in major producing countries should unite to stabilize
prices.