Rice growers in the North expressed concerns over the influx of cheap rice once the rice liberalisation under the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) will take effect on January 1, 2010.
  
Sanya Kittiya, a representative of growers from Phrae, said the influx would further pressure domestic prices. Despite the quota system for each province for the current pledging programme, the volume of rice is beyond estimation. He is worried that the liberalisation could worsen the situation, as imported rice could be identified as local rice for the tariff benefits.

The Foreign Trade Department on Wednesday hosted a public hearing in Chiang Mai. Under the liberalisation, agricultural import tariffs will be cut to zero per cent while import quotas would be abolished. The department's director-general Chutima Boonyaprapasara said the department was concerned over circumvention, particularly on agricultural products which are subjected to high pledging prices.

Chutima said that all opinions would be submitted to the National Rice Policy Committee within July, to formulate measures to accommodate problems from the liberalisation.

Source: Bangkok Post