Finding a Thai white rice 5% broken exporter isn’t hard. Finding one whose rice actually matches the contract, container after container, is a different job. If you import white rice for supermarkets, wholesale markets, restaurants or food aid, you already know how much a bad shipment costs: complaints, discounts, rice sitting in the warehouse and a customer who quietly starts buying from someone else.
We’re De Thai Products 1989 Company Limited, a rice miller and Thai white rice 5% broken exporter based in Chachoengsao, Thailand. We mill, sort and pack our own rice and ship it by the container to buyers worldwide. This page covers the grade, the full specification, bags, container loads, shipping, documents, pricing and the honest advice we give every new buyer.
Table of Contents
What Thai White Rice 5% Broken Is
Thai white rice 5% broken is long grain white rice milled from Thai paddy, sorted so that no more than 5% of the grains in the bag are broken. It’s the top standard grade of ordinary Thai white rice. Above it sits 100% Grade A and sortexed rice with almost no brokens. Below it come 10%, 15%, 25% and 100% broken grades, each cheaper than the one before.
In the pot, 5% broken cooks up white, fluffy and separate, with a clean neutral taste. It doesn’t have the strong smell of jasmine, which is exactly why many cooks prefer it for everyday meals, stews, fried rice and dishes where the rice shouldn’t compete with the sauce. If you want a simple explanation of the broken percentage itself, read what does 5% broken rice mean.
Why Buyers Look for a Thai White Rice 5% Broken Exporter
There are cheaper white rice grades and there are cheaper origins. Buyers still come to a Thai white rice 5% broken exporter for a few reasons.
The grain is long and looks good in the bag. Shoppers see whole grains, not dust and pieces. It cooks the same way every time, so restaurants and caterers don’t get surprises. Thailand has a long history of exporting this grade and an organised trade behind it, with clear standards and independent inspection. And the name “Thai white rice” means something in many markets, which helps the importer sell at a better price.
Where 5% broken loses is price. If your customers buy by price alone, 25% broken or a mixed grade might suit them better. We sell those too, and we’ll tell you honestly which grade fits your market.
Full Specification
This is the spec we ship as a Thai white rice 5% broken exporter. Every lot is tested against it before packing.
| Item | Thai White Rice 5% Broken |
|---|---|
| Origin | Thailand |
| Grain type | Long grain, milled white rice |
| Broken grains | 5% maximum |
| Moisture | 12 to 14% maximum |
| Purity | 95% minimum |
| Foreign matter | 0.1% maximum |
| Damaged grains | 1% maximum |
| Discoloured grains | 1% maximum |
| Chalky grains | 2% maximum |
| Average grain length | Long grain, typically around 7mm |
| Milling | Well milled, double polished |
| Sorting | Colour sorted |
| Crop | Current season |
| Shelf life | Up to 24 months with good storage |
You can see the product page for White Rice 5% Broken for photos and more detail. If you need tighter numbers, for example lower chalky grains or fully sortexed rice, ask about our Thai White Rice 100% Sortexed. Our page on what is sortexed rice explains the difference.
Cooking notes
Use about 1.5 to 2 cups of water per cup of rice. It cooks in 15 to 18 minutes. Rinse once before cooking for the cleanest result. New crop needs a little less water than old crop.
The Full White Rice Range
As a Thai white rice 5% broken exporter we also supply every other standard white rice grade, so you can match the grade to each customer:
- Thai White Rice 100% Sortexed for premium shelves
- White Rice 5% Broken, the grade this page is about
- Thai White Rice 10% Broken, a little cheaper, still good looking
- White Rice 25% Broken, the volume grade for price-led markets
- Thai White Rice 100% Broken for processing, brewing and the lowest price segment
The right choice depends on your buyers. Supermarkets usually want 5% broken. Wholesale markets in many parts of Africa move a lot of 25% broken. Food factories buy 100% broken. If you want to compare grades in more depth, see our Thai white rice 15% broken specification post.
Bags and Packing
We pack Thai white rice 5% broken in:
- 50kg PP woven bags, the standard for wholesale
- 25kg PP or laminated bags
- 5kg and 10kg printed bags for retail
- 1kg and 2kg consumer packs
- Jumbo bags on request for processors
We can print your brand or ship in plain export bags with the required marking: product name, origin, net weight, crop year and your importer details. Most importers who use us as their Thai white rice 5% broken exporter sell under their own label. You send artwork, we prepare a proof, you approve, we print.
Container Loads and Minimum Order
A 20ft container holds about 25 metric tons of rice: 500 bags of 50kg or 1,000 bags of 25kg. Retail packs in master bags reduce that slightly. A 40ft container doesn’t carry double for rice because of weight limits, so most rice ships in 20ft boxes. Our guide on how many tons of rice fit in a 20ft container has the details.
The usual minimum is one 20ft container. Bigger buyers order 10, 50 or more containers at a time, and for tenders and government buyers we can talk about break bulk. See our Thai rice minimum order quantity page.
Pricing
We can’t publish a fixed price here and no honest Thai white rice 5% broken exporter would. The price moves with paddy supply, the baht, government policy in rice exporting countries, and freight. What we can do is explain what affects it:
- Crop timing. Prices are often softer when new crop paddy arrives.
- Bag type. Printed retail bags cost more per ton than plain 50kg woven bags.
- Specification. Lower chalky or sortexed rice costs more.
- Delivery terms. FOB Thailand versus CFR or CIF to your port.
- Volume and regularity.
For a closer look at the numbers, read Thai white rice 5% broken price per ton and our explainer on FOB vs CIF rice price. The trade terms themselves are defined in the ICC’s Incoterms rules. If you follow world prices, the Thai Rice Exporters Association publishes reference prices for Thai grades every week.
Shipping Worldwide
We load at Laem Chabang and Bangkok and ship to ports across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas. Rough transit times are one to three weeks within Asia, three to five weeks to the Middle East and East or Southern Africa, four to six weeks to West Africa and Europe, and five to seven weeks to the Americas. Routes and transhipments change these, so we always confirm with the line before you sign.
Documents
As your Thai white rice 5% broken exporter we provide:
- Commercial invoice
- Packing list
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin, including preferential forms where they apply
- Phytosanitary certificate from the Thai Department of Agriculture
- Fumigation certificate
- Certificate of quality, weight and packing from SGS or another surveyor
- Health certificate, halal certificate, non-GMO declaration on request
Every country has its own import rules, so send us your clearing agent’s checklist before we ship. Our post on rice export documents explains each document. International food standards for rice are set out by the Codex Alimentarius if your regulator refers to them.
How an Order Works
- Enquiry. Send grade, quantity, bags, brand and port.
- Offer. We send a dated FOB or CFR price with the spec.
- Samples. We courier samples to you.
- Contract. Grade, tonnage, price, shipment period, inspection and payment.
- Bags. Artwork approval if it’s your brand.
- Milling and packing. We mill to order from stored paddy.
- Inspection. Independent surveyor checks quality and weight at loading.
- Shipment and documents. Documents go to you or your bank.
Plain bag orders can usually load within two to four weeks of contract. Custom bags add some time.
Payment Terms
New buyers usually pay a deposit by bank transfer with the balance against copy documents, or use a letter of credit at sight from a recognised bank. Repeat buyers can discuss other arrangements. Be careful of any Thai white rice 5% broken exporter asking for 100% payment up front before you’ve ever traded with them. That’s where most rice scams start.
7 Proven Tips When Choosing a Thai White Rice 5% Broken Exporter
1. Ask to see the mill
A real miller will happily show you the plant, by video call or in person. Traders without a mill often won’t.
2. Cook the sample, then cook it again
Cook it fresh and then reheat it the next day. That’s how restaurants and families really use rice.
3. Write chalky and damaged grains into the contract
Broken percentage isn’t the only number that matters. Chalky grains make rice look dull in the bag.
4. Insist on independent inspection
A surveyor at loading protects both sides. Don’t skip it to save a small fee.
5. Check the crop year
Ask which crop is in the bag. Old crop is cheaper but cooks differently.
6. Compare landed costs, not FOB prices
Two offers that look close FOB can be far apart once you add freight, insurance and port costs.
7. Start with one container, then plan
Test the market with one load. If it sells, agree a monthly plan so your Thai white rice 5% broken exporter can schedule milling and you get steadier prices.
Mistakes We See Often
The most common one is a buyer accepting a lower price for “5% broken” that turns out to be closer to 10% when it lands. Without independent inspection there’s not much you can do after the fact. Another is buyers ordering retail bags for a wholesale market, or the other way round. And a lot of first-time importers forget to check their own country’s label and registration rules before the bags are printed.
We also see buyers chase the cheapest freight and end up on slow routes with long transhipment stops, which ties up money and risks moisture damage. A slightly higher freight rate on a direct route is sometimes the cheaper choice in the end.
Who Buys From Us
As a Thai white rice 5% broken exporter, our buyers include:
- Importers and wholesalers in Africa and the Middle East
- Supermarket groups packing house brands
- Restaurant and catering distributors
- Food manufacturers who need a consistent white rice
- Government and aid tenders
If you’re in a particular region, our guides on white rice supplier Saudi Arabia, Thai white rice importers Angola and Thai white rice importers Mozambique go into local detail. Food factories should read rice supplier for food manufacturers.
Thai Rice Compared With Other Origins
Vietnam, India, Pakistan and Myanmar all export white rice, often cheaper. Each has its strengths. Thai 5% broken tends to win on grain appearance, cooking consistency and the reputation of the name. It tends to lose on price when other origins are aggressive. Our honest comparison is in Thai rice vs Vietnamese rice. For the bigger picture on Thai exports this year, see Thailand rice exports 2026.
Our Quality Control
Every lot is tested for moisture, broken grains, chalky grains, damaged and discoloured grains, and foreign matter before packing. We keep retained samples from each shipment so that if a question comes up after arrival we can test the same rice again. Our quality control page and our rice standard page show the process and the standards we follow.
Storage Advice for Importers
White rice is more forgiving than fragrant rice, but it still needs care. Keep bags on pallets, off the floor and away from walls. Keep the warehouse dry and ventilated. Don’t store rice next to fertiliser, chemicals or anything with a strong smell, because rice absorbs odours. Use stock in the order it arrived. Fumigate the warehouse regularly if insects are a problem in your area. Stored this way, Thai white rice 5% broken keeps well for up to two years.
A Buyer Example
An importer in East Africa used to buy mixed grades from traders and complained that every shipment looked different. He switched to us as his Thai white rice 5% broken exporter on a trial container in 50kg bags, plus a few hundred 5kg bags under his brand for a supermarket chain. After three shipments with the same spec and the same surveyor, the supermarket gave him more shelf space. He now takes a regular monthly volume and has added 25% broken for the wholesale market.
There was nothing clever in it. Same grade, same inspection, honest communication when crops changed.
How to Check a Thai White Rice 5% Broken Exporter Before You Pay
Rice fraud is real. Every year we hear from buyers who paid a deposit to a website with nice photos and never saw a grain. So here’s how to check any Thai white rice 5% broken exporter, us included, before money moves.
First, ask for the company registration and export licence. In Thailand, rice exporters must be registered with the Department of Foreign Trade. A real company will send the documents without fuss. Second, check that the bank account is in the company’s own name, not a personal account or a third country. Third, ask for a video call from the mill or warehouse, with the rice and the packing line in view. Fourth, ask for references from buyers in your region. A Thai white rice 5% broken exporter that’s been shipping for years will have some.
And finally, use secure payment. A letter of credit, or a deposit with the balance against documents, protects you. A seller who refuses all of these and wants full payment by transfer is a risk no matter how good the price looks.
What Happens at the Mill
People often ask what makes one Thai white rice 5% broken exporter’s rice look better than another’s. Most of it happens inside the mill.
We start with paddy that’s been dried properly and rested. Rice milled too soon after harvest, or dried too fast, cracks more easily. The husk is removed, then the brown rice is polished in stages to take the bran off without overheating the grain. Heat cracks rice, so slow polishing gives fewer broken grains.
After polishing, the rice goes through graders that separate whole grains from broken pieces, and then through colour sorters that throw out yellow, chalky, black and damaged grains. The broken pieces are blended back in at a controlled rate to reach the 5% figure. That’s the honest way to make 5% broken. A careless mill might skip sorting or blend unevenly, and you’d get bags that vary.
At the end, the rice is weighed and packed. A surveyor can watch this part and draw samples from the bags for testing.
Planning a Steady Supply
The buyers who do best with us as their Thai white rice 5% broken exporter are the ones who plan. They give us a rough idea of their monthly or quarterly volumes, and we plan paddy buying, milling and bag printing around it. When prices move, they can decide to bring forward or push back a shipment with some warning, rather than reacting in a panic.
You don’t need a fixed long contract to do this. A rolling forecast that we update together every month works well. It also means bags are printed and ready, which takes a week or two off every shipment.
If you’re supplying tenders or large institutions, talk to us early. A Thai white rice 5% broken exporter can only quote firm volumes for tenders if the paddy is secured in time.
What a Good Thai White Rice 5% Broken Exporter Tells You Up Front
There are a few things you should hear before you sign anything. When the crop is weak and prices are going up, a decent Thai white rice 5% broken exporter says so, instead of shipping lower quality at the old price. When the shipping line is delayed, you should hear it the same day, not when you ask where the container is. And when the rice in a lot doesn’t meet spec, it should stay in the warehouse.
We try to work this way. Not because it’s noble, but because it’s the only way to keep buyers for years. Rice is a repeat business. A Thai white rice 5% broken exporter that loses your trust over one container loses every container after it too.
So ask hard questions. Ask what happens if the surveyor finds 7% brokens. Ask who pays if the rice arrives wet. Ask how complaints are handled. A Thai white rice 5% broken exporter who answers clearly is usually one you can work with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you a miller or a trader?
We’re a miller and exporter. We mill and pack the rice ourselves in Thailand.
What is the minimum order?
One 20ft container, about 25 tons. You can mix bag sizes in it.
Can you supply 5% broken with lower chalky grains?
Yes. Tell us the spec you need and we’ll quote it.
Do you accept letters of credit?
Yes, an irrevocable LC at sight from a recognised bank.
Can I visit before ordering?
Yes. Buyers are welcome at our plant in Chachoengsao. We can also do a video tour.
Which countries do you ship to?
We ship worldwide, to any port served by regular container lines.
Work With a Thai White Rice 5% Broken Exporter You Can Trust
Send us the grade, tonnage, bag size and destination port. We’ll come back with a dated offer and arrange samples. If you’re still comparing suppliers, read how to import rice from Thailand first. It’ll help you ask the right questions, of us or anyone else.
De Thai Products 1989 Company Limited. Email info@dethairice.com, WhatsApp +66 81 034 6390, or use our contact page. See every grade on our products page.
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