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B400m to be set aside for pledging

GOVT CLAIMS RICE STOCK IS BEING SOLD

• Published: 16/09/2012 at 03:19 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Subsidising the rice pledging scheme for the 2012-2013 crop year is expected to cost the government 400 billion baht.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday cabinet would consider setting aside 400 billion baht for the Commerce Ministry to buy rice from farmers.

Ms Yingluck also pledged to tighten regulations to ensure transparency in the pledging process. She earlier admitted there have been attempts to defraud the scheme.
The next harvest season starts in October.
Ms Yingluck was speaking during her weekly broadcast, which yesterday was delivered from Krabi.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, who spoke on the programme, said the government was gradually releasing its huge rice stockpile under government-to-government deals. So far 7.3 million tonnes of rice had been sold.
He dismissed a claim the government had declined to sell the rice.

Mr Boonsong said Thailand has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to sell rice to Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Guinea, Ivory Coast and the Philippines. The rice is expected to be delivered in May-June next year.

''We are selling the rice. There are about 4 million tonnes left in stock. What we are doing is waiting for the right moment,'' he said.
Mr Boonsong said Thailand is likely to retain its status as the world's top rice exporter this year.
On average the Kingdom sells between 8.5-9 million tonnes of rice.
However, he said the government is not concerned so much about its world ranking as the price of rice.
''Farmers should be able to sell rice at higher prices, which is government policy. We are following that policy and the domestic prices have increased,'' he said.
Rice prices on average had soared to US$650 (19,987 baht) per tonne, compared with $590 last year.
''So it isn't right to say the pledging scheme has damaged exports. If it did, that meant we sold less at a cheaper price,'' he said.
Meanwhile, a police investigation into missing rice worth 200 million baht at a warehouse in Nakhon Ratchasima is expected to be concluded in a month.

Pol Col Chanat Kaweekhaochalard, superintendent of Jorhor police station, said about 15 people have been questioned over the missing stocks.
About 1,000 tonnes of pledged rice stored at Thanya Rungruangchai rice mill in Muang district could not be located when the Public Warehouse Organisation did an inspection in June.

The PWO filed a complaint with police accusing two executives of the rice miller, Apicha Prasitanont and Pathitta Prasitanont, of embezzlement.