The Commerce Ministry yesterday denied reports that shipments of Thai rice had been detained by the US Food and Drug Administration, saying that as far it was concerned, exports to the US continued to take place as normal.

Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikua said the ministry had not seen instruction from the USFDA suggesting that Thai rice products could be impounded or subjected to stringent inspection.

There has been a report mentioning close inspection of rice products imported from China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand. The USFDA stated on May 28 that it would closely examine rice brought into the US from these countries amid concerns of possible insect contamination, he said.

The USFDA has randomly inspected companies from a list, but has not actually impounded rice from any country, he added.

Moreover, a discussion between the ministry and the Thai Rice Exporters Association found that there was no evidence of any detention of Thai rice shipments as yet.

Natthawut blamed an opposition party for the rumours, saying it wanted to discredit the government's rice-pledging and release programme.

Such a tactic has damaged the country's image, he said.

In addition, the Thailand Trade Representative in Los Angeles reported that it had found no impounding of Thai rice in the major West Coast port, despite rising concern over a USFDA announcement that it would stringently inspect every container of rice imported from the Kingdom.

Srirat Rastapana, director-general of the International Trade Promotion Department, said none of the Thai trade offices in the US had found any evidence of such official action at any of the country's ports.

Custom Brokers in California reported that Thai rice had been randomly inspected by US Customs, but this was normal practice.

"The department has not found any seizure of Thai rice or any USFDA report that it will stringently inspect Thai rice. The agency only announced on May 1 that it would detain and inspect every container of basmati rice from India, due to concern over contamination from animals," said Srirat.

The Thai Trade Office in Washington DC has not found any report of Thai rice being inspected by the USFDA either, she added.

Srirat said the department would closely monitor the USFDA's moves and urgently warn Thai exporters if any action were to be taken.

In the first four months of the year, the US imported 136,302 tonnes of rice from Thailand worth US$1.58 billion (Bt49 billion), representing a year on year increase of 7 per cent in volume and 9 per cent in value.

Alarm among exporters

Thai Rice Exporters Association president Korbsook Iamsuri said the news about safety concerns over Thai rice had caused considerable alarm among rice exporters.

She said that while exports should be traded as normal, the news could harm exporters' competitiveness as some importers could shift to placing orders from other rice-producing nations.

Agriculture Minister Yukol Limlaemthong yesterday also dismissed a report that the US Food and Drug Administration had ordered every port in the country to confine Thai rice for random inspections.

"The US has not issued any warning about the quality of Thai rice," Yukol said yesterday.

He identified the Office of Agricultural Affairs, the Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC, as his official source.

Yukol said major exporters of Thai rice also provided similar information. "They have told me that they are exporting as usual. There has been no problem," he said.

Yukol pointed out that the Agriculture Department had checked the quality of rice exports and did not detect any contamination.

He urged rumour-mongers to stop spreading false information. "Please think about the impact on your country," he said.

Yukol said he had now instructed Chavalit Chookajorn, permanent secretary for Agriculture, to contact the US embassy in Bangkok to provide accurate information to clear up any lingering doubts.

"We need to prevent any misunderstanding. Otherwise, confidence in Thai rice may drop," he said.

Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong said the random checks by the Department of Medical Sciences also did not find any contamination in rice bags.

"Of course, we will continue the random checks because the health of people is important," he said.

To date, there has been growing concern that a huge quantity of rice in the government's stockpile may have been contaminated with harmful chemicals and the rice may finally be released to the market at consumers' risk.

Pradit added that he had already instructed the Thai FDA to have rice bags become a controlled food product before the end of this year.

"We have to quickly implement the plan to ensure public trust in food safety," he said. The plan was, in fact, conceived during the tenure of his predecessor Witthaya Buranasiri, but according to the original plan the implementation will start by 2015.

"We have to do it sooner. Rice bags must be subject to Primary GMP before the end of this year," he said.

Source: The Nation