Only broken milled rice imports would be permitted under stringent measures being planned to cushion the impact of the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta), which came into effect early this month.
Imports could be restricted to two periods when Thai rice is not available, from May to July and from March to October, said Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai, who chaired a meeting of a panel to manage rice imports under Afta yesterday.
In addition, rice would be imported only at five border checkpoints where customs officers and officials from the Agriculture Ministry and Food and Drug Administration would enforce stringent plant quarantine and sanitary standards - Aranyaprathet at Sa Kaeo, Nong Khai and Mae Sai in Chiang Rai, Mae Sot in Tak, and Ranong.
Klong Toey port would also carry out rigorous inspections.
The measures would come into effect immediately after winning approval from the national rice policy committee and the cabinet, said Mrs Porntiva.
"The government is now preparing stringent measures to control rice imports, despite the tariff being brought down to zero," she said.
"We also have special safeguard measures against imports and plan precautions to shield businesses and farmers from the fall in farm product prices after tariffs are cut under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) from early this month."
Thai rice prices, used as a benchmark across Asia, gained 2.9% this week in line with an increase in domestic prices and the strengthening of the baht, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, which meets each Wednesday to set prices.
The price of 100% grade-B white rice was set yesterday at $607 a tonne, compared with $590 a tonne on Dec 23. The price reached 2009's high of $644 a tonne last March.
In related development, the Philippines has agreed to import 370,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand, said Mrs Porntiva. The grain would be imported duty-free, she added.