Illegal Rice Import Boom at Three Pagodas Pass

By LAWI WENG / SANGKHLABURI
Thai traders imported tens of thousands of bags of Burmese rice recently in Three Pagodas Pass, a Thai town at the Thai-Burmese border, said a local source.

Beginning last week, Burmese rice was being bought up by Thai traders at a rate of 300 sacks every day, according to Burmese rice traders in the town.

Local observers said that with the influx of Burmese rice to the region, concerns were growing over the possibility of a severe increase in the price of rice in the Three Pagodas Pass area.

The price in the border town has already increased from 700 Baht for a 60-kilogram sack in March to 820 baht in April.

The world’s largest exporter of rice, Thailand, is unaccustomed to importing such quantities. Many consumers are worried that this new law of supply and demand will stretch their budgets.

Thai and Burmese border personnel have made an unofficial rice trade agreement allowing the transport of rice from Burma to Thailand. This agreement allows for a bypass of usual trade routes; although technically the Thai-Burmese border at Three Pagodas Pass has been closed for more than a year, the rice trade has been carried out via a new unofficial crossing, said a rice bag carrier.

According to a Burmese border guard who wished to remain anonymous, to pass through the new crossing a tax bribe of 5 baht per sack of rice must be paid to the Burmese border guards.

Officially, the Burmese junta does not allow rice to be traded at the border, except where an understanding has been made between commercial traders in the border town, where limited stocks were permitted for the town only, said a trader at Three Pagodas Pass.

There are several major commercial rice traders at Three Pagodas Pass. According to local buyers, some traders currently have rice stores estimated at up to 3,000 kg, or three metric tonnes, stored in 60-kilogram sacks. However this is not available for purchase, as with the secret agreement in place, these stores are intended for future Thai commercial sales.

Depending on the demand from Thailand and the extent of the rice shortage crisis, rice from the Burmese side of the border will continue to be transported illegally, said a trade observer from the border town.

At this stage it is not known whether this style of illegal rice trade activity is continuing the length of the Thai-Burmese border, or if it is confined to the Three Pagodas Pass area.