Commerce Minister Confirms Rice from Pledge Scheme Remains Edible After 10 Years

[snoop1130]

 

According to Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, rice that has been stored for over ten years in Surin province under the scrutiny of the Yingluck Shinawatra government's controversial rice pledging scheme is still edible. During a recent visit to the warehouse with the governor of Surin province, reporters, and rice surveyors, the minister tasted prepared samples and found the rice to be in good condition, despite a loss of scent due to long-term storage. He suggested that the stored rice could fetch 17-18 baht per kilogram if sold.

 

The minister clarified that the rice needs to be washed around 15 times before cooking, which is not an unusual process. His visit to the warehouse aimed to assess the quality of the rice for potential sale, not to reinitiate the rice pledging scheme.

 

He further enlightened that the warehouse holds approximately 150,000 sacks of rice. If sold in African markets, the sale could generate up to 400 million baht. On getting the cabinet's approval, a rice auction might occur next month.

 

The rice pledging scheme implemented by the Yingluck administration has been controversial, with allegations of costing the taxpayer over 500 billion baht as rice was bought approximately 50% above the market price. Consequently, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced the former commerce minister, Boonsong Teriyapirom, and his deputy, Poom Sarapol, to substantial jail terms. Minister Wechayachai hopes to put an end to this scandal.

 

Photo courtesy of Thai PBS

 

-- 2024-05-07

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[bannork]

'Needs to be washed around 15 times before cooking'. .

That really inspires confidence it's edible and convenient to use.

Pheu Thai insulting the public yet again 

[NoDisplayName]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

the warehouse holds approximately 150,000 sacks of rice.

 

How much does it cost to store rice for a decade?

[Hunz Kittisak]

Why didn’t they got rid of it earlier? 
 

[Bday Prang]

Tons of ten year old rice saturated with rats urine,  Not for me thanks

Nothing that guy ate was 10 years old probably bought a bag from tescos that morning for the demonstration

Apparently its gonna be sold to the Africans ,  not surprising as no Thai would touch the stuff

 

He said it would fetch 17 -  18 baht a kilo if sold,   not a chance

400,000,000 baht if sold to africa ? wonder where the money will end up

[Bday Prang]

10 minutes ago, Hunz Kittisak said:

Why didn’t they got rid of it earlier? 
 

That would require an element of common sense and efficiency, not their strongest points

[Bday Prang]

26 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

How much does it cost to store rice for a decade?

in this case I would estimate at least 10 times more than it normally costs

[jaideedave]

3 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Tons of ten year old rice saturated with rats urine,  Not for me thanks

Nothing that guy ate was 10 years old probably bought a bag from tescos that morning for the demonstration

Apparently its gonna be sold to the Africans ,  not surprising as no Thai would touch the stuff

 

He said it would fetch 17 -  18 baht a kilo if sold,   not a chance

400,000,000 baht if sold to africa ? wonder where the money will end up

Correct on all counts.What a disgrace to the real quality of Hom Mali Thai rice coveted the world round. Rat piss and god knows what else..ffs

[lom]

Serve it in the officers mess

 

Edited May 7 by lom

[StayinThailand2much]

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

If sold in African markets, the sale could generate up to 400 million baht. On getting the cabinet's approval, a rice auction might occur next month.

 

People in African markets will probably say: "Yuck", before buying fresh rice from Vietnam...

 

That precious aged rice should be reserved for Pheu Thai politicians and the Shinawatra clan. Bon appetit!

[kickstart]

You cannot tell me after 10 years that weevils have not got into the rice.

It will have lost its scent for sure, probable have a moldy taste to it, be better off selling to the likes of CP or Betagro and mix it in for livestock feed. but feed companies would not pay much more than say 10baht/kg for it.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

According to Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, rice that has been stored for over ten years in Surin province under the scrutiny of the Yingluck Shinawatra government's controversial rice pledging scheme is still edible.

 

Don't think so, Dude!  😞

 

But I have a famous bridge to sell, if you're interested....

 

[liddelljohn]

Pig feed for the pigs in parliament and BIB

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

According to Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, rice that has been stored for over ten years in Surin province under the scrutiny of the Yingluck Shinawatra government's controversial rice pledging scheme is still edible.

Go ahead minister, you can have my share too.

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, jaideedave said:

Correct on all counts.What a disgrace to the real quality of Hom Mali Thai rice coveted the world round. Rat piss and god knows what else..ffs

Hom Mali is a shadow of what it used to be... missus bought some last week, very low quality and no fragrance.

[bamnutsak]

I wonder who is reaping the fees to store this rice?

 

 

[newbee2022]

Well, with this special taste of bribery😂

[jippytum]

The only people who gained  from this Phe Thai idea  similar to the 10000 baht  handout brainwave were the middle men and the silo owners. Do you think this worthless rice has been stored free of charge for ten years

[cowellandrew]

needs to be washed around 15 times before cooking,

if it was to be sold to Africa haven't they got less water than an afternoon in Songkran in pattaya!

[Bday Prang]

Nothing that requires washing 15 times beforehand should ever be put anywhere near ones mouth, there are No exceptions.

How can anybody say that this requirement is" not unusual"

How many times has the minister himself eaten rice that needed to be washed 15 times?   The poorest of the issan poor would not think of doing so, and probably would not even feed it to their pigs or chickens 

The scheme has cost the taxpayer 500 billion but the rice even by their own estimates is worth only "up to" 400 million. 

The Shinawatra "clan" are claimed to be the creme de la creme of business people  what kind of businessman or woman would consider paying 50% over the market rate for anything especially perishable foodstuffs?  

The answer would clearly be unscrupulous crooked one's who were using other peoples money to fund a scam that they would personally profit from.

As usual a few token members of the  "relatively" low hanging fruit community have been hung out to dry and received jail terms, in this case a former commerce minister and his deputy. So i am sure the current commerce minister would be very keen to put this scandal to bed, as , presumably he is more than a little concerned about his place in the firing line, 

Also i'm sure he has received instructions to sort it out and bury it permanently prior to Yingluck's return , to save her any inconvenience or embarrassment  

One could not make this sort of stuff up, sadly its not necessary to 

Edited May 8 by Bday Prang

[Bday Prang]

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Hom Mali is a shadow of what it used to be... missus bought some last week, very low quality and no fragrance.

did she buy it from Surin by any chance? 17-18 baht per kilo perhaps?  Make sure she washes it well, 15 times is recommended

[bamnutsak]

27 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

The answer would clearly be unscrupulous crooked one's who were using other peoples money to fund a scam that they would personally profit from.

 

The "cost" for the Digital Wallet scheme is similar. Good thing votes are more perishable than rice.

 

 

No clue why the commerce minister is raising this old issue in a positive light now? Does he think it will provide some cover for Yingluck's only remaining charge?

 

 

 

 

[Bday Prang]

5 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

I wonder who is reaping the fees to store this rice?

 

 

I wonder if the rice actually even exists, did it ever actually exist? Anything is possible here in matters such as this

[Bday Prang]

4 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Good thing votes are more perishable than rice

These people don't concern themselves with trivial minor details like "votes" 

[Bday Prang]

16 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

 

The "cost" for the Digital Wallet scheme is similar. Good thing votes are more perishable than rice.

 

 

No clue why the commerce minister is raising this old issue in a positive light now? Does he think it will provide some cover for Yingluck's only remaining charge?

 

 

 

 

i would say there is definitely a Yingluck connection to all this, especially in view of her planned impending return to here ( and politics presumably)

[bannork]

3 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

i would say there is definitely a Yingluck connection to all this, especially in view of her planned impending return to here ( and politics presumably)

Yes. 'Look everyone, the rice wasn't damaged, still good to go ( somewhere) after 10 years. You see, Yingluck didn't damage the economy. Come home dear, all is forgiven.' 

[Lancelot01]

On 5/7/2024 at 2:18 PM, jaideedave said:

Correct on all counts.What a disgrace to the real quality of Hom Mali Thai rice coveted the world round. Rat piss and god knows what else..ffs

I think I'll be avoiding Khow Pad for the foreseeable future.

[MarkBR]

On 5/7/2024 at 7:18 PM, jaideedave said:

Correct on all counts.What a disgrace to the real quality of Hom Mali Thai rice coveted the world round. Rat piss and god knows what else..ffs

The real danger is aflatotoxin contamination by Aspergillus flavus.  The toxin produced dby this fungus is a very pwoerful liver carcinogen.  Any stored seeds must be tested.