Distribution

Local Distribution

Thailand consumes approximately 60% of total rice grown and processed domestically. As one of the world's top rice producers, rice is ubiquitously available everywhere in Thailand; however, wholesalers rice transactions constitute the majority of rice transactions.

Rice is sold either in a truck load (140 sacks of 100kg each per truck) or in packs of 1, 5, and 15 kgs. Polyethylene bags are usually used for packing rice, on which the brand could be sealed. Pricing depends on the rice quality, which ranges from low to high.

International Distribution
Exporting channels could either be in break bulk vessels or container vessels.

Break Bulk Vessels (Conventional Vessels)
This type of vessels carries very heavy loads ranging from a few hundred metric tons up to over 25,000 metric tons. Rice is packed into polyethlene bags, each of which is directly transferred to the break bulk vessel. The net weight for each packed bag varies from 1kg, 30kgs, 50kgs, to 1 metric ton. In Thailand, Koh Sichang is the commercial port for loading/unloading break bulk vessels.

Container Vessels
Commonly used as a means to ship import and export goods internationally, container vessels provide a quick and convenient way to load and unload the packed rice. However, a container vessel could carry less weight and the shipping cost is more expensive than that of the break bulk vessels. The weight per container ranges from 23 (20' container) to 27 (40' container) metric tons. After transferring packed rice into a container, it is loaded on to the vessel's deck.