EU rice firm agrees to import Thai organic jasmine rice yearly

ROI ET, THAILAND, May 26 (TNA) - A leading rice trading company in the European Union (EU) has agreed to steadily purchase Thai organic "Hom Mali" or jasmine rice on the annual basis, starting from this year. A visiting delegation from the European rice firm from five countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden, on Monday observed organic Thai rice fields in Thawat Buri District of Roi Et Province in the Thai Northeast, after they were, as they said, impressed with the area’s non-toxic jasmine rice, displayed at the THAIFEX-World of food Asia 2014, held at the IMPACT Trade and Exhibition Convention Center in Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok from May 21-25. Ronwarit Parichattrakoon, chief of a farmers training center for leaders of the northeastern organic farming community enterprise network, told reporters that the European business group then agreed to place yearly purchase orders for organic Thai "Hom Mali" or fragrant rice from the community, starting with the first order of 500 tonnes this year. The northeastern organic farming community enterprise network comprises of 1,140 members from eight Thai provinces, including Roi Et, Buri Ram, Mahasarakham, Si Sa Ket, Amnat Charoen, Mukdahan, Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom. The network's farmer members in Roi Et alone have been encouraged to grow four strains of Thai rice under the organic farming system and to produce value-added rice-borne products, namely rice-milk soap and hair conditioner.(TNA)