Thailand will work to maintain its lead in the market for premium-grade rice after the emergence of a new US strain, Jazzman, and it will conduct tests to see if Jazzman has been genetically modified, a senior official said on Tuesday.
"We need to know everything about Jazzman rice in order to differentiate it from our fragrant rice and prevent consumers from getting confused," Prasert Gosalvitra, director general of the Agriculture Ministry's Rice Department, told Reuters. Louisiana State University has developed Jazzman, which has qualities similar to the fragrant Thai variety and is starting to be sold by retailers in the United States, according to the website www.jazzmanrice.com.
Thai fragrant jasmine rice is recognised as the world's premium grade because of its long grain, soft white texture after cooking and unique aromatic smell. Prasert said Jazzman was no match, but officials, traders and the media in Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, are starting to worry about competition from the new rival. During the laboratory tests, scientists would investigate whether Jazzman had been genetically modified. The European Union is a major importer of Thai rice, buying 790,000 tonnes in 2008.
Traders have said they were concerned that Jazzman rice would snatch market share from Thai premium-grade rice in the United States, especially if some operators started to blend the two together to cut costs. The United States bought 552,563 tonnes of Thai rice in 2008, mostly premium-grade produce for high-end consumers and restaurants, according to Commerce Ministry data. Thailand is expected to export 8.0-8.5 million tonnes of rice in 2009 after 10 million tonnes in 2008.
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