Arab nations ask to set up rice processing outlets
- Bangkok Post
- 07 Jan 2010
Saudi Arabia and neighbours take a new tack in the quest to secure supplies of food from Thailand, this time seeking rice processing factories.
Saudi Arabia and neighbours take a new tack in the quest to secure supplies of food from Thailand, this time seeking rice processing factories.
The cooperation will be in the establishment of rice farms by the Thais in Nigeria’s Free Trade Zones.
The TCC Group's move to terminate the farmers' leases comes amid increased concerns that foreign firms are taking a controlling interest in rice farms in Thailand's central provinces.
Bangkok was wary of GCC efforts to ensure its food supplies by purchasing rice growing lands, and now political instability is chilling the investment climate. Tom Spender reports
Bahrain and other Gulf countries' plan to buy agricultural land in Thailand to bolster their food supplies could be thwarted, it has emerged.
Gulf investors may be forced to reconsider plans to acquire agricultural land in Thailand following moves there that could curb foreign investment in the sector.
Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, is cracking down on foreign ownership of its farmland following reports of rich Middle East food importers snapping up vast tracts of land in poorer countries.
Palong Piroomyu, a 52-year-old farmer from Bang Len in Nakhon Pathom province, is preparing to sell his portion of farmland to a Bangkok-based buyer. He's not concerned about who the buyers are or that some may even be quietly representing foreigners.
The Bangkok Post asked two prominent figures to discuss the pros and cons of foreign farmland ownership.
Les étrangers volent-ils la terre des Thaïlandais ? Le débat enflamme l’ensemble de la presse locale. Malgré des lois strictes, qui font de la terre un bien national inaliénable, les fermiers thaïlandais s’estiment lésés.
Mr Patima, of Colliers International, said trying to block overseas investment in Thai agricultural land, especially from the Middle East where food supplies were scarce, was next to impossible
The Department of Special Investigation will launch an inquiry into four Thai companies in Ayutthaya which own rice-farm plots of almost 10,000 rai. Transnational business consortiums are said to be buying the land through Thai nominees, which is against the law.
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