PM: China agrees to purchase more rice from Thailand

BANGKOK, October 13 (TNA) - Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says China has agreed to increase rice purchase from Thailand to 1 million tonnes a year through a government-to-government (G2G) agreement. Yinluck revealed the positive outcome from Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang’s visit to Thailand between October 11-13, noting that agreement was a result of an adjustment of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on China’s purchases of Thai agricultural products via G2G agreement, under which China had earlier agreed to buy one million tonnes of rice from Thailand within five year. She said China has also agreed to buy 200,000 tonnes of rubber from Thailand annually. Yingluck said the two countries are also negotiating on trade in other agricultural products and she has assigned Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan and Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan to oversee the matter. The Chinese premier Sunday afternoon departed Thailand for Vietnam, the final leg of his first Southeast Asia tour, which has also taken him to Brunei. (TNA)