The Prime Minister of Thailand has announced that he and his administration will heavily penalize Thai fragrant rice exporting companies who are found to have mixed lower grades of rice or other substances in with their fragrant rice exports. The Prime Minister says that this practice is damaging Thailand s reputation and the guilty parties must be punished. Thai fragrant rice prices have been dropping, export quantities have been lower, and the country may have a considerable quantity of the rice left unsold at the end of the season. Vietnamese rice prices were steady on Wednesday in continued slow demand. There are still ships loading rice at Saigon port bound for the Philippines, Cuba and Iraq, which are helping to keep prices from sinking.
Viet traders report that trading activity was quiet yesterday and today following the U.S. attacks.
Exporters are still short on supply, and farmers are holding most of the grain, according to traders. Exporters have little need for stocks at present as very few new contracts are being executed. AFMC has also closed today s tender for 20,000 tons of long grain brown rice, and results will be announced after the samples are evaluated. U.S. commerce remains at a virtual standstill after yesterday s terrorist attacks. All financial markets remained closed today, and it is unclear when they will reopen.