Thailand's Foreign Minister says the country is dropping plans to create a Southeast Asian rice cartel. The proposal was first floated last week by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to give rice producers greater control over rice prices, which have tripled since December, the Associated Press reported. «We are not talking about setting up a rice cartel, » Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Tuesday after a meeting with ambassadors from rice exporting countries. «If Thailand sets up an rice cartel and fixes a price, that will make matters worse and worsen food security».
