The Thai jasmine rice FOB price is the first number every importer asks us for, and it’s also the number most often misunderstood. Two offers can look 300 dollars apart and both be fair, because one is for Hom Mali and the other is for Pathumthani fragrant rice. Or one includes printed retail bags and the other is plain 50kg sacks. This guide explains what the price really covers, where it sits right now, and how to read an offer so you don’t get caught out.
We are De Thai Products 1989 Company Limited, a rice miller and exporter in Thailand. We sell Thai Hom Mali rice and Thai jasmine rice on FOB, CFR and CIF terms to buyers worldwide. Everything below comes from quoting this rice every week, so you’ll see real specs, real packing options and the way we build a price.
Table of Contents
What FOB Means for Rice
FOB stands for Free On Board. When we quote a Thai jasmine rice FOB price, it means we pay for everything until the rice is loaded on the ship at a Thai port, usually Laem Chabang or Bangkok. That includes the rice, milling, sorting, bags, trucking to the port, export customs clearance, loading costs at our end and the export documents.
From the moment the container is on board, the costs and the risk are yours. You pay the sea freight, the insurance, the charges at your port, import duty and anything after that. The ICC Incoterms rules set out the exact split if you want the official wording.
FOB is the cleanest way to compare suppliers in Thailand, because freight and insurance are taken out of the picture. That’s why serious buyers ask for a Thai jasmine rice FOB price first, then ask for CFR or CIF once they’ve picked a supplier.
The Thai Jasmine Rice FOB Price Right Now
Prices move every week, so treat the table below as a guide to where the market has been sitting in recent months, not as a firm offer. Every quote we send has its own date and validity.
| Grade | Approximate FOB price, USD per metric ton |
|---|---|
| Thai jasmine rice (Pathumthani fragrant), 5% broken | about 620 to 780 |
| Thai Hom Mali rice, 92% purity | about 1,100 to 1,150 |
| Thai Hom Mali rice, 100% grade | above the 92% grade, quoted per crop |
| Organic jasmine rice | premium over conventional, quoted per lot |
| Broken jasmine rice | well below whole grain, quoted per lot |
The Thai Rice Exporters Association publishes reference prices each week. It’s worth checking those before you accept any Thai jasmine rice FOB price, ours included. If an offer is far below the published range for the same grade, ask why. Usually the answer is a blend, old crop or a different spec.
Our Specifications Behind the Price
A Thai jasmine rice FOB price means nothing without the spec next to it. These are the specs we quote against.
Thai Hom Mali Rice, 92% Purity
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Variety | KDML105 and RD15 |
| Purity | 92% minimum |
| Broken grains | 4.5% maximum |
| Moisture | 14% maximum |
| Admixture | 2% maximum |
| Chalky kernels | 6% maximum |
| Yellow kernels | 0.2% maximum |
| Milling | Double polished, sortexed |
| Crop | Current season, confirmed at booking |
Thai Jasmine Rice, Pathumthani Fragrant
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Grain | Long grain, white, polished |
| Purity | 95% minimum |
| Broken grains | 5% maximum |
| Moisture | 14% maximum |
| Foreign matter | 0.1% maximum |
| Packing | 1kg to 50kg bags |
You can see both products on our Thai Hom Mali rice and Thai jasmine rice pages. If you’re not sure which one you need, our comparison of Thai Hom Mali vs jasmine rice is a good place to start.
What Moves the Thai Jasmine Rice FOB Price
When a buyer asks why last month’s offer was lower, the answer is almost always one of these.
The Grade
Hom Mali is grown once a year in the northeast and gets the highest price. Pathumthani fragrant rice comes from the central region, is harvested more often and costs a lot less. A 100% grade Hom Mali is dearer than 92%. Tighter broken percentages cost more because the mill has to sort out more grains.
The Crop Year
New crop Hom Mali starts coming in around November and December. Fresh rice smells stronger, and buyers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia pay more for it. As the season goes on and that crop gets older, the Thai jasmine rice FOB price for the same grade often softens. Read old crop vs new crop jasmine rice for how this plays out.
The Baht
We sell in US dollars, but we buy paddy and pay wages in Thai baht. When the baht gets stronger, the dollar price has to go up just to stand still. Thai exporters reckon each one-baht move against the dollar shifts fragrant rice by roughly 30 to 35 dollars a ton. You can follow the rate on the Bank of Thailand website.
Paddy Prices
If farmers get more for their Hom Mali paddy, the milled rice costs more. Weather, government support schemes and demand from other exporters all push paddy prices around.
Packing
Plain 50kg PP woven bags are the cheapest way to ship. 25kg bags cost a little more per ton. Printed 5kg and 1kg retail packs, vacuum packs and private label bags can add a noticeable amount, so always compare the Thai jasmine rice FOB price for the same bag.
Competition From Other Origins
Vietnam and Cambodia sell fragrant rice too, often well below Thai prices. When their prices fall, some buyers switch, and Thai prices sometimes come down to compete. When they rise, Thai fragrant rice looks cheaper by comparison.
From FOB to Your Door: Building a Landed Cost
The Thai jasmine rice FOB price is only the first line of your costing. Here’s how a typical buyer builds up the full cost per ton.
| Cost item | Who arranges it on FOB |
|---|---|
| Rice, bags, loading in Thailand | Us |
| Thai export documents | Us |
| Sea freight | You or your forwarder |
| Marine insurance | You |
| Destination port and terminal charges | You |
| Import duty and taxes | You |
| Customs broker and inspection fees | You |
| Trucking to your warehouse | You |
One 20ft container holds about 25 metric tons of bagged rice. So if the Thai jasmine rice FOB price is 700 dollars a ton, the rice in that box costs around 17,500 dollars. Add freight, divide by 25, and you have your CFR price per ton. Our article on FOB vs CIF rice price walks through a full worked example, and how many tons of rice fit in a 20ft container covers the loading side.
FOB, CFR or CIF: Which Should You Ask For?
It depends on how much of the shipping you want to handle yourself.
- FOB suits buyers who already have a freight forwarder with good rates out of Thailand.
- CFR suits buyers who want us to book the ship but prefer to insure the cargo themselves.
- CIF suits first-time buyers or anyone whose bank or customs office prefers CIF values.
We’re happy to quote all three. If you ask for CFR or CIF, we’ll still show you the Thai jasmine rice FOB price inside the quote, so you can see exactly what you’re paying for the freight.
Price Per Bag
Many buyers think in bags, not tons. Here’s a rough conversion using the ranges above.
| Grade | FOB per ton (example) | Per 50kg bag | Per 25kg bag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathumthani fragrant, 5% | 700 USD | about 35 USD | about 17.50 USD, plus a little for the bag |
| Hom Mali, 92% | 1,120 USD | about 56 USD | about 28 USD, plus a little for the bag |
These are examples only. Your quote will show the actual Thai jasmine rice FOB price for your grade and bag on the day.
How to Read a Thai Jasmine Rice FOB Price Offer
Before you compare two offers, check that they quote the same thing. A proper offer should state:
- The exact grade, such as Thai Hom Mali rice 92% or Pathumthani fragrant 5% broken
- The full spec, including purity, broken, moisture and chalky kernels
- The crop year
- Bag type, net weight per bag and marking
- The price per metric ton and the Incoterm, with the named port
- Quantity and shipment period
- Payment terms
- Who does the inspection
- How long the price is valid
If an offer gives you a Thai jasmine rice FOB price but leaves out the crop year or the purity, ask before you go any further. That’s where most of the price gap between suppliers comes from.
Warning Signs in a Low Offer
Every week someone sends us a screenshot of a much cheaper offer and asks us to match it. Sometimes we can. More often the cheap offer has one of these problems:
- It’s a blend of Hom Mali with cheaper rice, sold as pure Hom Mali.
- It’s old crop with most of the aroma gone.
- It’s not Thai rice at all, just labelled that way.
- The seller wants full payment before showing samples or a company address.
- The price is FOB but the port named is somewhere you’ve never heard of.
A Thai jasmine rice FOB price that seems too good to be true usually is. Our guide on how to identify genuine Thai Hom Mali rice shows simple ways to check.
How Thai Prices Compare With Other Origins
Buyers often ask why they should pay more for Thai rice. The honest answer is that Thai Hom Mali has the strongest, most consistent aroma and the best-known name, and many customers can taste the difference. Vietnamese fragrant rice, such as ST25, has become very good and is cheaper. Cambodian fragrant rice is also strong and often priced between the two.
If your customers buy on name and smell, the Thai jasmine rice FOB price is worth paying. If they buy only on price, a cheaper origin may make more sense, and we’ll tell you that honestly. For a full comparison, read Thai rice vs Vietnamese rice.
A Typical Inquiry and How We Answer It
Here’s the kind of message we get most days. A distributor writes in asking for jasmine rice, two containers, for a port in the Gulf, packed in 25kg bags. That’s a good start, but it leaves a lot open.
So we ask a few things back. Do your customers need Hom Mali on the label, or will Pathumthani do? Which month do you want to ship? Do you have a forwarder, or should we book freight? Is there a halal certificate or any lab test your customs office wants? Plain bags or your brand printed on them?
Once we have those answers, we send two prices side by side, one for each grade, with the same bag, the same shipment month and the same inspection terms. The buyer can then see the real gap between the two rices, cook the samples, and decide. Most of the time they end up mixing both in the order, Hom Mali for the premium shelf and Pathumthani for everyday packs. That’s the kind of answer we think a buyer deserves before they spend money.
Can You Fix the Price for Several Months?
Sometimes. For buyers taking regular containers, we can agree a price for a shipment period, often one to three months, once paddy is secured. Longer than that is risky for both sides because the baht and paddy prices can move a lot. Most importers prefer to agree a Thai jasmine rice FOB price per shipment, with a commitment on volume, so neither side is caught out.
Payment Terms
For first orders, most buyers pay a 30% deposit by bank transfer and the rest against a copy of the bill of lading. We also accept irrevocable letters of credit at sight from recognised banks. Payment terms don’t change the Thai jasmine rice FOB price much, but long credit terms do have a cost.
Documents Included in the FOB Price
Every shipment we quote FOB includes these papers at no extra cost:
- Commercial invoice and packing list
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin
- Phytosanitary certificate
- Fumigation certificate
- Quality and weight certificate from an independent inspector
- Thai Hom Mali rice certificate for Hom Mali shipments, under Department of Foreign Trade rules
If your country needs anything else, like a halal certificate or a lab report, tell us at the start so it can be built into the quote. The full list is in rice export documents.
Who Pays This Price
We quote the Thai jasmine rice FOB price to importers and distributors, supermarket chains, restaurant groups, food manufacturers and private label brands. Larger buyers usually get slightly better prices because they take regular containers and let us plan milling. Smaller buyers can still get a fair price, especially if they’re flexible on the shipment date.
If you’re putting your own brand on the bag, read private label Thai Hom Mali rice. If you sell mainly to restaurants, see bulk jasmine rice for restaurants.
7 Proven Tips to Get a Better Thai Jasmine Rice FOB Price
You can’t control the baht or the weather. But you can control a lot of things that affect what you pay. These are the ones that make a real difference for our customers.
- Be clear about the grade. Ask for Hom Mali only if your label needs it. Pathumthani fragrant rice can save you hundreds of dollars a ton.
- Be flexible on timing. If you can ship in a quieter month, mills have more capacity and prices are often softer.
- Use standard bags. Plain 50kg or 25kg bags keep the Thai jasmine rice FOB price lower than printed retail packs.
- Commit to volume. A buyer who books six containers over six months will get a better price than one who books a single box at a time.
- Accept a sensible broken percentage. Going from 4.5% to under 3% broken costs extra sorting time, and many customers won’t notice the difference.
- Pay on time. Smooth payment builds trust, and trust gets you first call on good lots.
- Talk to the mill, not a chain of brokers. Each middleman adds a margin to the Thai jasmine rice FOB price.
How Prices Tend to Move Through the Year
Every season is different, but there’s a rough pattern we see most years. Around October and November, the old Hom Mali crop is running low and buyers start waiting for the new one, so prices for the remaining old stock can go either way. From December into the first months of the year, new crop Hom Mali arrives, quality is at its best and demand from Asian markets is strong ahead of Lunar New Year. That’s when the Thai jasmine rice FOB price for new crop is often at its firmest.
Through the middle of the year, the market usually settles. Pathumthani fragrant rice has more than one harvest, so its price swings less than Hom Mali. If your business can plan ahead, booking Pathumthani in the quieter months and Hom Mali soon after harvest can help you average out your costs.
How We Build Our Own Quote
Buyers sometimes ask how we arrive at our Thai jasmine rice FOB price. It’s simpler than people think. We start with what we’re paying for paddy that week. We add the cost of milling, sorting and drying, then the bags, labour, trucking to the port, export papers, inspection and our margin. Then we convert the total into dollars at that day’s exchange rate.
Because paddy and the baht move, we date every quote. If you come back three weeks later, the price may be a little higher or lower, and we’ll show you why. We’d rather explain a change than hide it inside a vague offer.
Why the Cheapest FOB Price Isn’t Always the Cheapest Rice
A low Thai jasmine rice FOB price can cost you more in the end. If the rice arrives with weak aroma, too many broken grains or moisture problems, your customers will notice. You might have to discount the stock, or it might sit in your warehouse for months. One bad container can undo the savings from many good ones.
That’s why we always suggest comparing offers on three things together: the spec, the crop year and the inspection terms. When those three match, comparing the Thai jasmine rice FOB price between suppliers becomes fair, and the cheapest offer really is the best deal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Thai jasmine rice FOB price the same every week?
No. It moves with paddy prices, the baht and demand. Our offers are usually valid for a few days.
Why is Hom Mali so much more expensive than Pathumthani?
Hom Mali grows once a year in a smaller area, has a stronger aroma and a protected name. Pathumthani is grown more often and in larger volumes.
Can I get a price for less than a container?
Our quotes are for full containers, but you can split one container between several grades.
Does the FOB price include the bags?
Yes. The Thai jasmine rice FOB price includes standard bags. Printed or special packaging is quoted separately.
Which port do you load from?
Mostly Laem Chabang and Bangkok port.
Ask for Today’s Thai Jasmine Rice FOB Price
Send us the grade, bag size, quantity and your destination port. We’ll reply with a dated Thai jasmine rice FOB price, plus CFR or CIF if you want it, and send samples so you can cook and test the rice before you commit. For a wider view of costs, our guide to the Thai jasmine rice price per ton is a useful companion.
De Thai Products 1989 Company Limited. Email info@dethairice.com, WhatsApp +66 81 034 6390, or use our contact page. You can also read about us and our quality control process before you get in touch.
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