Jasmine rice distributors live in the middle of everything. You buy from a mill or an exporter, you sell to supermarkets, wholesalers, restaurants and corner shops, and you get the phone call when something goes wrong at either end. If the rice is late, your customers blame you. If it smells different from last month, they blame you too. So the supplier you pick behind you matters a lot.
We’re De Thai Products 1989 Company Limited, a Thai rice miller and exporter based in Chachoengsao. We supply jasmine rice distributors in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas, mostly by the container. This page is for distributors who want to know exactly what we sell, the specs, how we pack, how we price, and how we work with resellers so you can keep your own customers happy.
Table of Contents
What Jasmine Rice Distributors Actually Need From a Supplier
After years of selling to resellers, we think it comes down to five things. The rice has to be the same every time. It has to arrive when promised. The paperwork has to be right so it clears customs without drama. The price has to leave you a margin. And when there’s a problem, someone has to pick up the phone.
Fancy brochures don’t matter much. Most jasmine rice distributors we work with found us through another buyer, cooked our samples, ordered one container and then kept ordering because those five things held up.
The Jasmine Grades We Sell
This is the range we offer jasmine rice distributors:
- Thai Hom Mali Rice, the premium grade. Long grain, strong natural aroma, soft texture. Sold at the top end of supermarkets and to restaurants that care about rice.
- Thai Jasmine Rice / Pathumthani Fragrant Rice, fragrant and soft, priced below Hom Mali. Our biggest seller for distributors who supply mass retail.
- Organic Jasmine Rice, for health stores and organic sections.
- Brown jasmine and Riceberry rice, smaller volumes, good for specialty shelves.
- Broken jasmine, cheaper, for food service and processors.
Many jasmine rice distributors carry two grades: Hom Mali for premium customers and Pathumthani fragrant for price-driven ones. If you’re not sure how the two differ, our post on Pathumthani fragrant rice vs Hom Mali rice lays it out.
Specifications
| Item | Thai Hom Mali Rice | Pathumthani Fragrant Rice |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Thailand | Thailand |
| Grain | Long grain, white | Long grain, white |
| Broken grains | 5% maximum | 5% maximum |
| Moisture | 14% maximum | 12 to 14% maximum |
| Purity | Hom Mali 92% minimum | 95% minimum |
| Foreign matter | 0.1% maximum | 0.1% maximum |
| Crop | Current season | Current season |
| Shelf life | Up to 24 months | Up to 24 months |
| Bags | 1kg to 50kg | 1kg to 50kg |
We can supply other broken percentages if your market wants a cheaper product. Some jasmine rice distributors take Hom Mali 100% Grade A for premium shelves. Read about it on our page for Thai Hom Mali rice 100% Grade A. For the variety most Hom Mali comes from, see Hom Mali 105 rice (KDML 105).
Packing Options for Jasmine Rice Distributors
Distributors sell into very different channels, so we pack in a lot of formats:
- 1kg, 2kg and 5kg retail bags, plain or vacuum packed
- 10kg and 25kg bags for supermarkets and restaurants
- 50kg PP woven bags for wholesale markets
- 25 lb and 50 lb bags for US and Canadian buyers
- Your own brand printed, or our standard brand
Private label is the big one. Most established jasmine rice distributors want their own name on the bag because it builds loyalty and protects them if they change supplier. We print to your artwork, in your language, with your importer details. You approve a proof before printing. For more on that, see our page about private label Thai Hom Mali rice.
If you sell in North America, the 50 lb bag jasmine rice wholesale post covers the US style bags.
How We Work With Jasmine Rice Distributors
We know a distributor makes money on the margin between our price and what their customers pay. We don’t sell around our distributors to the same customers in their market. If a supermarket in your area contacts us directly and you’re already supplying them with our rice, we tell them to buy through you.
We also try to give jasmine rice distributors the tools to sell:
- Spec sheets and certificates you can send to your customers
- Product photos for your catalogue and website
- Cooking instructions in plain language
- Samples of new crop so you can show customers before stock arrives
None of this costs you extra. It just makes the rice easier to sell, which keeps you ordering.
Volumes and Container Loads
A 20ft container holds about 25 tons of rice in 25kg or 50kg bags. With small retail packs in cartons, it’s a bit less. Most jasmine rice distributors start with one container and build up. Some of our larger buyers take 10 or more each month.
We can mix grades and bag sizes in one container, which helps smaller distributors carry a full range without overstocking any one line. Check our minimum order quantity page for trial options, and if you want bigger lots, our page on Thai Hom Mali rice bulk container orders explains how we handle them.
Pricing for Jasmine Rice Distributors
Jasmine prices change with the paddy market, the Thai baht and freight. We don’t post a price list because it would be out of date in a week. What we do is send a dated offer, usually valid for a few days, based on your grade, bag and port.
Things that move the price:
- Hom Mali versus Pathumthani fragrant
- Old crop versus new crop. Our post on old crop vs new crop jasmine rice explains why it matters
- Bag type and printing
- FOB or CFR to your port
- Volume and how regularly you buy
For background on how per-ton numbers are built, see Thai Hom Mali rice price per ton and Thai jasmine rice FOB price. Jasmine rice distributors who order on a monthly plan generally get steadier prices than one-off buyers, because we can plan paddy buying around them.
Shipping Worldwide
We load at Laem Chabang and Bangkok ports and ship to almost anywhere a container line goes. Typical transit times are a couple of weeks to Asian ports, three to five weeks to the Middle East and Africa, and four to six weeks to Europe and the Americas, depending on the route.
We quote FOB or CFR. If you want insurance included, we can quote CIF. The trade terms are defined by the International Chamber of Commerce under the Incoterms rules, and our own explainer on FOB vs CIF rice price puts it simply.
Documents
Every shipment to jasmine rice distributors comes with a full set:
- Commercial invoice and packing list
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin, including Form A or other preferential forms where they apply
- Phytosanitary certificate
- Fumigation certificate
- Certificate of quality, weight and packing from an independent surveyor
- Health certificate, halal certificate or non-GMO statement when needed
Many markets want halal certification. See our page on halal certified rice supplier work, and for markets that ask about GMO status, read non-GMO Thai rice supplier. The full list of Thai export paperwork is in rice export documents.
Payment Terms
For new buyers we normally work with a deposit by bank transfer and the balance against copy documents, or a letter of credit at sight. Jasmine rice distributors who’ve been with us for a while can discuss other terms. We’d always suggest buyers avoid paying 100% up front to any exporter they haven’t worked with before.
8 Proven Tips for Jasmine Rice Distributors
1. Pick one grade per brand
Keep the same grade under the same label. Customers remember the taste, and switching grades quietly is the fastest way to lose them.
2. Cook every new crop sample
New crop cooks softer and needs less water. Cook it before it lands so you can tell your customers.
3. Check for blending
Cheap jasmine is sometimes mixed with plain white rice. Learn the quick checks in our guide on how to identify genuine Thai Hom Mali rice.
4. Order on a schedule
Smaller regular shipments keep the rice fresher and your cash flow easier than one huge order every few months.
5. Keep a buffer before holidays
Ramadan, Christmas, Chinese New Year and other festivals push demand up. Order early.
6. Use a surveyor
Independent inspection at loading is cheap protection for both sides.
7. Store it cool and dry
Heat and humidity kill aroma. Pallets, airflow, first in first out.
8. Talk to your supplier
Tell us when customers complain or praise the rice. We can’t fix what we don’t hear about.
Common Mistakes Distributors Make
Buying on price alone is still the number one problem. A cheap offer can mean an old crop, a blend, or a higher broken percentage than the contract says. Another is printing bags before checking label rules in their own country, then paying to reprint. We also see jasmine rice distributors take one huge container of small retail bags they can’t sell fast enough, when a mixed load would’ve worked better.
And some distributors forget about freight timing. A good price is worthless if the shipping line can’t give you space for a month and your shelves run empty.
Who We Supply
The jasmine rice distributors who buy from us include:
- National importers supplying supermarket chains
- Regional wholesalers serving several neighbouring countries
- Food service distributors selling to restaurants, hotels and caterers
- Ethnic and Asian grocery distributors in Europe and North America
- Online grocery sellers building their own brand
If you’re in a particular region, we’ve written guides that might help, such as jasmine rice wholesale Ghana, wholesale jasmine rice suppliers USA, jasmine rice wholesale suppliers Australia and Thai Hom Mali rice supplier Singapore.
Food service distributors might also like our post on bulk jasmine rice for restaurants, and those supplying retail chains can read rice supplier for supermarkets.
Why Thai Jasmine?
Thailand has grown fragrant rice for a very long time and the trade is well organised. Standards for Thai Hom Mali are set by the government, and the Thai Rice Exporters Association tracks exports and grades. For general background on the variety there’s a good summary of jasmine rice on Wikipedia.
Other origins sell fragrant rice too, often cheaper. But for jasmine rice distributors selling under the Thai name, consistency and recognition are worth paying for. Our Thai rice vs Vietnamese rice post covers the honest pros and cons.
Our Quality Control
Every lot is checked for moisture, broken grains, chalky and damaged grains, foreign matter and aroma. For Hom Mali we also check purity, meaning how much of the rice is genuinely Hom Mali. We keep retained samples from each shipment so we can test them again if a customer raises a question months later. More detail is on our quality control page.
A Distributor Story
A food service distributor in the Gulf started with us on one container of Pathumthani fragrant in 25kg bags, mainly for restaurants. A few months later his supermarket customers started asking for smaller packs. We added 5kg printed bags of Hom Mali under his brand in the same container. Within a year he was taking four containers a month, two grades, three bag sizes.
He told us later the thing that kept him ordering was simple: the rice in the bag matched the sample every time. That’s what jasmine rice distributors need, and it’s what we work hardest at.
How Jasmine Rice Is Grown and Milled
It helps to know where the rice in your bag starts, because it explains a lot about price and quality swings.
Most Thai Hom Mali is grown in the northeast, in provinces like Surin, Buriram, Roi Et and Ubon Ratchathani. The fields there are mostly rain fed and farmers grow one main crop a year. The cool, dry weather near harvest is part of what gives the rice its smell. Pathumthani fragrant rice is grown more in the central plains, where irrigation allows more than one crop a year. That’s one reason it costs less.
After harvest, the paddy is dried to a safe moisture level and stored. When we mill it, the husk comes off first, then the bran is polished away to make white rice. The rice is graded by size, sorted by colour machines to take out yellow, chalky or damaged grains, and then the broken pieces are separated to hit the broken percentage in your contract. The last step is packing, weighing and sealing the bags.
Every step affects the final rice. Over-polishing makes the grain whiter but loses some aroma. Poor drying makes the grain crack and pushes up broken grains. A mill that cuts corners can still hit a spec sheet on paper while the rice cooks badly. That’s why we tell everyone to cook samples, not just read certificates.
What Your Customers Will Ask You
Distributors spend a lot of time answering the same questions. Here are the common ones and the plain answers we give.
Why is this bag softer than the last one? It’s probably new crop. New crop jasmine holds more moisture and cooks softer. It firms up over the following months.
Why does it smell less strong? Older crop or poor storage. Aroma fades with time, heat and humidity. Keep stock moving and stored cool.
Is this real Thai jasmine? Show them the certificate of origin and, for Hom Mali, the purity figure on the quality certificate.
How much water do I use? About 1 to 1.5 cups of water per cup of rice, depending on crop and how soft they like it. Rinse once or twice first.
We give our jasmine rice distributors a one page sheet with these answers so their sales staff can handle questions without calling anyone.
Building a Brand That Lasts
Selling rice under your own label is the best way to build a business that doesn’t depend on any single supplier, including us. Here’s what we’ve seen work.
Keep the bag design simple and easy to recognise from a distance. Customers in a busy market or supermarket aisle pick bags by colour and logo before they read anything. Put the grade clearly on the front: Hom Mali, jasmine or fragrant. Don’t call a Pathumthani grade Hom Mali. Regulators in some countries check, and customers notice in the pot.
Price it consistently. A brand that’s cheap one month and expensive the next confuses people. If paddy prices rise, many distributors absorb part of it for a while rather than jump the shelf price straight away.
And look after quality before growth. A brand that’s known for good rice can always add more customers. A brand known for bad rice rarely recovers.
Online and Retail Channels
More of our buyers now sell through online grocery platforms as well as physical shops. For online sales, small bags of 1kg, 2kg and 5kg work best, ideally vacuum packed so they ship without damage. Good photos and clear cooking instructions matter even more online, because the customer can’t pick up the bag. We can supply product photos of our rice and packing for jasmine rice distributors who need them for their listings.
Cash Flow and Stock Planning
Rice is a low margin, high volume business, and most distributors we know watch cash flow more closely than anything else. A container of Hom Mali ties up a lot of money from the day you pay the deposit until the day the last bag sells.
A few things help. Work out how many weeks a container takes to sell in your market and order so the next one lands just before the current one runs out. Leave a small buffer for shipping delays, because they happen. Mix fast sellers and slow sellers in one container so you’re not sitting on a full load of a grade that moves slowly.
Talk to us about your sales rate. If we know you sell two containers a month, we can plan milling, bag printing and booking so shipments go out on a steady rhythm. That keeps your money moving and your shelves full, and it’s how most long term jasmine rice distributors we supply run their business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you sell to small jasmine rice distributors?
Yes. One 20ft container is the usual minimum, and we can mix grades and bag sizes in it.
Can you print my own brand?
Yes, on all bag sizes from 1kg to 50kg. You approve the design before we print.
Will you sell directly to my customers?
No. If you’re already supplying a customer with our rice, we send them back to you.
How fast can you ship?
Plain bags can usually load within a few weeks of contract. Custom printed bags take a little longer.
Do you provide halal and quality certificates?
Yes. Halal, phytosanitary, fumigation, origin and independent quality certificates are all available.
Do you ship worldwide?
Yes, to Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.
Become One of Our Jasmine Rice Distributors
Send us your market, the grades you’re interested in, bag sizes and expected monthly volume. We’ll reply with a dated offer and arrange samples. If you want to read more about us first, see the Thai jasmine rice supplier and Thai Hom Mali rice exporter pages.
De Thai Products 1989 Company Limited. Email info@dethairice.com, WhatsApp +66 81 034 6390, or use our contact page. Browse the full range on our products page.
