Ebola chasing rice exporters away from Africa
The recent Ebola outbreak may begin to affect the trade relations between Ebola plagued nations like Nigeria and their foreign partners as president of Thailand Rice Exporters Association, Vichai Sriprasert, said on Monday that merchants now find it difficult to ship their goods to African nations.
“At first, we did not think Ebola would be a big deal for our exports, but now most of the shipping companies are afraid that their crews will get the virus,” Sriprasert told Bangkok Post on Monday.
According to him, it is now very difficult to find cargo ships to transport rice to Africa due to the Ebola pandemic in some West African countries.
He expressed fear on that the Ebola outbreak could begin to affect the price of rice, as ships refuse to sail to ports in the afflicted countries.
Africa is one of the key destinations for Thai rice exporters.
Over the years, Thailand’s export to Africa has increased by 140 percent in continent with Nigeria is its fifth largest market in Africa.
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