U.S. asked to halt rice subsidy

U.S. asked to halt rice subsidy

Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters, Bangkok

Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, will urge the United States, the third largest rice exporter, to cease subsidy schemes to shore up global rice prices, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Saturday.

Thaksin said in his weekly national radio address he would ask U.S. President George W. Bush during a visit to Washington at the end of this month to stop subsidizing its rice farmers in order to help boost rice prices worldwide.

Thaksin is due to meet Bush in Washington on November 30 to discuss bilateral relations and fights against terrorism.

"A worldwide price slump this year is due to price cutting among rice producing countries, so there have been talks among major producers on how to shore up the prices," Thaksin said.

"When I visit the United States, I would ask them not to subsidize rice because the U.S. rice subsidy is a cause of global price drop."

Rice traders say a global surplus has depressed the price of low grade rice this year and this is likely to continue into next year.

Thaksin said if Washington agreed to cease its domestic subsidy schemes, global prices would eventually rise since Vietnam, the world's second largest rice exporter, had already fully cooperated with Thailand.