TOKYO : Thai rice exporters to Japan should be aware of new traceability rules that will take effect on July 1 as part of improved food safety measures.

The Japanese government has required traceability of all domestically produced farm products back to their origin at the prefectural level since last July 1. The law will be extended to imported products starting this July, tracing back to the country of origin.

Rice exported from Thailand will have to be labelled with the country of origin and, possibly later, the province of harvest.

Japan has a tariff-free rice import quota of 770,000 tonnes under its commitment to the World Trade Organisation. The country has already imported 255,700 tonnes of rice from Thailand for the 2011 fiscal year that will end on March 31.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said the trend in the food business was toward stricter traceability with extended coverage.

Thai exporters should be prepared to comply with the new regulation and turn it into a strength as Japan grows more dependent on imported foods, she said.

The law was initiated after low-quality products intended for use in industries such as chemical and glue manufacturing found their way into the food industry and caused a spate of food poisoning cases.

Sakumoto Takeshi, president of the Okinawa Awamori Distillers Association and the honorary Thai consul in Okinawa prefecture, uses only imported Thai rice at his 600-year-old awamori distillery.

Awamori is an alcoholic beverage made from rice and indigenous to Okinawa.

Mr Takeshi would like to see Thailand ensure that only good quality rice is exported to Japan and wants guarantees it really is grown in the kingdom.

"It would be good if Thailand could identify the provinces of rice shipped to Japan," he said.

Rice is a sensitive issue for Japan. The import tariff for amounts exceeding the 770,000-tonne quota is a prohibitive 341 yen a kilogramme or about 100,000 baht a tonne.

The types and amount of rice imports are determined by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry's Food Agency, which surveys demand among the food industry such as by cracker and miso producers.

Japan also allows rice imports for public consumption. Last year, saw 664,395 tonnes imported for this purpose, down slightly from 670,000 tonnes in 2009.

Under this system, the US was the largest supplier at 48%, followed by Thailand at 44.5% and China at 6%. Thailand's proportion totalled 295,398 tonnes, up by 7.4% from 2009.

Korbsook Iamsuri, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, foresees greater opportunities for Thai rice.

Exports are under an auction system, so the average price of 100% white rice exported to Japan is only about US$500 a tonne, she said.

Japan imports Thai rice mainly for miso, sake and cracker production, as it is cheaper than domestic rice.

However, a portion is held back by the government for national security purposes. After three years, the unused stocks are donated to poor countries such as North Korea and Laos. Japan produces 13 million tonnes of paddy each year, while domestic rice consumption is between 8 million and 8.3 million tonnes.

Source: Bangkok Post