Officials from the world’s leading rice-producing countries are meeting in Thailand to discuss their plan to boost world rice prices by forming an unofficial cartel.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more


Present at the meeting are officials from five countries: China, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, which together produce over three-quarters of the world’s rice.


The meeting aims to form an unofficial cartel that will hope to halt the fall of rice prices by determining a minimum price, below which the five countries will refuse to sell. The minimum price is likely to be around 1997 prices. Since then prices have dropped by around one-third, and rice producers are afraid that prices will continue to fall if nothing is done to stop it, reports BBC online.


Rice is a particularly important food, as it is the staple diet in many developing countries. Although common in commodity industries, cartel-type behaviour is a sensitive issue when it comes to rice.


Although farmers need to be paid a decent price for their crop, it is also important for the rice to be affordable to people in poor and developing countries.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact