Will AFTA free trade in rice spur smuggling from Thailand's neighbors?
By Jon Fernquest
Thailand's
rice sector has seen a lot of illegal activity in recent years: 1. Rice has been smuggled into Thailand from poorer neighboring countries (Read article).
2. Strategic smuggling of sugar out of Thailand and then back in again has been used to thwart price controls (Read article).
3. Bangkok river pirates waylaid rice barges to steal millions of baht of rice (Read article).
4. The case of the "incredible disappearing rice" that hit Thai TV in 2008 involved a private company that had decided to sell (only temporarily mind you) the rice it had been entrusted with and paid by the government to store (Read article #1 and #2).
Today's article (with due diligence) looks at the possibility of rice smuggling from neighboring countries in the near future.
The new AFTA free trade agreement won't apply to Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam until 2015.
This might create some opportunities for unscrupulous rice dealers to smuggle rice from these neighboring countries into Thailand to profit from price differences.
The Thai government needs to pay more attention to Thailand's rice industry, today's article insists.
I just came back from a vacation in the Philippines only three hours by plane from Bangkok.
During my trip I was pleased to discover the rice museum at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) near the airport in Manila as well as a recent volume published by Philippine rice experts that addresses every aspect of the Philippine rice sector: Securing Rice, Reducing Poverty: Challenges and Policy Directions (See book).
Regional cooperation within ASEAN on rice sector research and development could contribute to a stronger economically unified ASEAN in the future.
Article begins after vocabulary:
spur - cause
something to happen
smuggle - bring goods into a country illegally (See Wikipedia)
strategic - done with a special plan to achieve long term goals
price controls - when prices of goods are fixed and set by government policy
thwart price controls - avoid and get around price controls
waylaid - stop a person and then steal or attack them
rice barges - long flat boats used to carry rice down river to Bangkok
due diligence - investigation before doing something that explores possible problems that might occur (See Wikipedia)
entrusted with - when another person gives you something to keep and look after (they expect it to neither be damaged or disappear)
Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) - the grouping of Southeast Asian states working together to make trading in the region easier (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand. Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia) (See Wikipedia)
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) - an agreement between two countries or all the countries in a region to reduce tariffs (taxes on imports) and other restrictions on trade
unscrupulous - prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral way to get what they want
pay attention to - spend more time looking at and dealing with
regional cooperation - when all the countries in a region work together with policy to achieve goals
research and development - creative work done to increase knowledge that can be used to create new products (See Wikipedia)
smuggle - bring goods into a country illegally (See Wikipedia)
strategic - done with a special plan to achieve long term goals
price controls - when prices of goods are fixed and set by government policy
thwart price controls - avoid and get around price controls
waylaid - stop a person and then steal or attack them
rice barges - long flat boats used to carry rice down river to Bangkok
due diligence - investigation before doing something that explores possible problems that might occur (See Wikipedia)
entrusted with - when another person gives you something to keep and look after (they expect it to neither be damaged or disappear)
Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) - the grouping of Southeast Asian states working together to make trading in the region easier (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand. Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia) (See Wikipedia)
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) - an agreement between two countries or all the countries in a region to reduce tariffs (taxes on imports) and other restrictions on trade
unscrupulous - prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral way to get what they want
pay attention to - spend more time looking at and dealing with
regional cooperation - when all the countries in a region work together with policy to achieve goals
research and development - creative work done to increase knowledge that can be used to create new products (See Wikipedia)
Pact prompts smuggling concern
ASEAN FREE TRADE ACCORD 'MAY LEAD TO BLACK MARKET RICE'3/01/2010
Post Reporters
The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has aired concerns about smuggled rice from neighbouring countries after the full implementation of the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) agreement.
Key elements of the agreement between members of the accord, which came into force on Friday, are zero tariffs and unlimited quotas for 23 farm products which include rice. The full trade liberalisation applies only to six members at present - Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam will join in 2015.
a pact - an
agreement
X prompts Y - X causes Y
a concern - something that people are worried about
aired concerns - when people let other people know what they are worried about
an accord - an agreement
free trade accord - a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (See above)
black market - an illegal market in which goods or currencies are bought and sold in a way that breaks the law (for example: taxes are not paid, smuggled goods) (See Wikipedia)
key elements of the agreement - the most important parts of the agreement
came into force - when people had to start following an agreement
zero tariffs - no taxes on imports
unlimited quotas - no limits on amount that can be imported into country
trade liberalisation - reducing restrictions, taxes, and regulation that prevent trade from happening
X prompts Y - X causes Y
a concern - something that people are worried about
aired concerns - when people let other people know what they are worried about
an accord - an agreement
free trade accord - a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (See above)
black market - an illegal market in which goods or currencies are bought and sold in a way that breaks the law (for example: taxes are not paid, smuggled goods) (See Wikipedia)
key elements of the agreement - the most important parts of the agreement
came into force - when people had to start following an agreement
zero tariffs - no taxes on imports
unlimited quotas - no limits on amount that can be imported into country
trade liberalisation - reducing restrictions, taxes, and regulation that prevent trade from happening
The ministry is concerned gangs may take the opportunity to smuggle cheaper rice from neighbouring countries which at present do not benefit from the free trade pact into Thailand for exporting to the five other Asean members, according to Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Theera Wongsamut.
Vichien Phuanglamjiak, vice-president of the Thai Rice Farmers Association, agreed with the ministry's assessment, saying that the trade liberalisation on rice will possibly encourage traders of bagged rice to use cheaper rice from Asean neighbours instead of locally produced rice.
The problem might not surface now when the rice price is high but it would emerge when the price drops and exporters opt for cost-cutting measures, he pointed out.
Mr Theera said the ministry had requested customs and security authorities at border checkpoints to stay alert to possible smuggling.
assessment - looking at
something closely and then making a judgement about it (example:
teacher assessment or grading of students in a class)
problems surface, problems emerge -
opt for - choose
opt for cost-cutting measures - choose actions that will reduce costs
X pointed out Y - X showed to other people that Y was the case
customs - the government agency that checks goods entering the country and collects import taxes (tariffs) on them (See Wikipedia)
security authorities - government workers and officials in charge of safety
border checkpoints - places along the border of two countries where the government (customs) checks the goods entering and leaving a country
alert - see everything that is going on around and are able to act quickly if something happens
stay alert - continue to be alert (dont' fall asleep)
problems surface, problems emerge -
opt for - choose
opt for cost-cutting measures - choose actions that will reduce costs
X pointed out Y - X showed to other people that Y was the case
customs - the government agency that checks goods entering the country and collects import taxes (tariffs) on them (See Wikipedia)
security authorities - government workers and officials in charge of safety
border checkpoints - places along the border of two countries where the government (customs) checks the goods entering and leaving a country
alert - see everything that is going on around and are able to act quickly if something happens
stay alert - continue to be alert (dont' fall asleep)
Tosapol Wangsilabut, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries in Ayutthaya, urged the government to come up with better measures to boost competitiveness for rice farmers in the long run when they will face stiffer competition from other Asean members, especially Vietnam.
Thai farmers are increasingly growing rice which gives quick yields but had relatively poorer qualities including shorter storage time, he said.
He urged the government to improve rice strains for farmers, enhance irrigation systems, help farmers cut costs and increase productivity, and improve cultivation techniques.
"Rice cultivation is the main occupation of Thai people. It is undeniable that the government does not pay much attention to it today," Mr Tosapol said.
However, Mr Theera insisted that Afta would give benefits for Thailand which has an advantage on productivity over other countries in the region.
With Afta, Thailand would be able to export more farm products and foods to the Asean market at lower costs.
come up with - create
come up with better measures - create better ways of dealing with a problem
yield - the amount produced (here: the amount produced from a fixed amount of land)
quick yields - produce a lot quickly
a strain - in biology a genetically unique kind of plant, animal, or bacteria (See Wikipedia)
rice strains - different kinds or genetic varieties of rice
irrigation systems - the canals, pipes, and other technology that delivers waters to crops grown by farmers (See Wikipedia)
enhance irrigation systems - improve and add good things to irrigation systems
undeniable - is a fact that you cannot argue about
insisted that - say strongly and firmly that (and refuse to change your mind about it)
productivity - the amount produced with a given fixed set of resources (land, workers, and machines)
come up with better measures - create better ways of dealing with a problem
yield - the amount produced (here: the amount produced from a fixed amount of land)
quick yields - produce a lot quickly
a strain - in biology a genetically unique kind of plant, animal, or bacteria (See Wikipedia)
rice strains - different kinds or genetic varieties of rice
irrigation systems - the canals, pipes, and other technology that delivers waters to crops grown by farmers (See Wikipedia)
enhance irrigation systems - improve and add good things to irrigation systems
undeniable - is a fact that you cannot argue about
insisted that - say strongly and firmly that (and refuse to change your mind about it)
productivity - the amount produced with a given fixed set of resources (land, workers, and machines)
(Source: Bangkok Post, Pact prompts smuggling concern, ASEAN FREE TRADE ACCORD 'MAY LEAD TO BLACK MARKET RICE'
3/01/2010, Post Reporters, link)
