Ambassadors from African countries have raised concerns over reports that Thailand is going to ship the controversial 10-year-old rice stockpile to their countries.
An informed source in the Foreign Ministry confirmed with Thai PBS World that the issue was discussed during a recent meeting between Thai senior officials in charge of South Asia, Middle East and Africa and the African envoys.
“Officials of the ministry acknowledged their concerns and will pass them on to relevant authorities,” said the source.
The Nairobi-based Nation news website has reported African diplomats in Bangkok have demanded answers from local authorities over a plan by the Thai government to ship the ten-year-old rice to Africa. The stockpile was a left-over from the scandal-hit rice-pledging scheme dating back to the time of the Yingluck government.
“It was one of the issues discussed between the African envoys and the officials of the Foreign Ministry,” said the source.
The Nation quoted African diplomats as saying that the decision to sell the rice to Africa is worrying because Thailand is one of the biggest exporters of rice to the region, selling to countries like Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in bulk.
It said in 2022, for example, Kenya bought about US$10.4 million worth of Thai rice, according to the UN Comtrade figures.
Netizens in Nigeria recently also voiced their concern about the potentially adverse impacts the rice may have on people’s health if it eventually finds its way to Africa, especially Nigeria where food safety and regulation checks are not taken seriously.
