The Thai opposition is chasing votes. Will Bangkok have to say goodbye to the supremacy of rice?

The electoral promises of the party currently in opposition in Thailand risk causing the country to lose its first place in the ranking of major rice exporters. In the event of a (probable, according to the polls) victory of the faction that opposes the current government in the elections on 3 July, local farmers will demand compliance with a binding promise: that the state buy their rice for no less than 15 thousand baths per ton, about 496 dollars. This is a level that exceeds the current market level by 80%. Today rice for export is offered at $465 in Vietnam and $500 in Thailand, but if the promise is kept, it would go to around $870. A figure that would no longer allow Bangkok to sell over nine million tons of rice abroad, as it is expected to do this year. The first place among the exporting countries could go to Vietnam, with its 6 million tons available for international markets. The figure of 15 baht surpasses even that obtained by growers in spring 2008, when the freeze on Indian sales caused panic buying and the Thai price for exports shot up to 1.080 dollars per tonne. On that occasion, local farmers received an average of 14 bath/ton.