After 7-year ban, Iraq to import second lot of Thai rice

INA-follow-up

Thailand announced the return of Thai rice exports to Iraq after seven years of ban.

The Nation Thailand mentioned in news translated by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “This will be the second lot that Iraq has bought from Thailand this year,” Kriangsak Tabnanon, president of the Thai Rice Mills Association, said on Friday.

“The first lot of 44,000 tonnes had been delivered on August 18. The transaction marks a historic moment for rice export as Iraq had boycotted rice from Thailand for seven years over quality concerns.”

Kriangsak said the ban was the result of a Thai exporter, who had delivered 110,000 tonnes of rice to Iraq in 2014, failing to meet the country’s quality standards. The Iraqi importers also claimed that the delivered rice was 10 per cent less than what was agreed on, which had led to a ban on Thai rice that lasted seven years.

“The removal of the ban is great news for Thai rice exporters. Iraq has been a long-time customer of Thailand and could buy more rice from us,” he said.

“The association would urge all exporters to give rice quality top priority to strengthen customer confidence so as to secure more orders in the future.”