New Rice Price Guarantee Scheme

[george]

New rice price guarantee scheme

BANGKOK: -- The cabinet on Tuesday approved the National Rice Committee's proposal to replace the current paddy mortgage scheme with a price guarantee programme, said deputy government spokesman Vachara Kannikar.

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has been assigned to fix a suitable paddy price based on capital cost and a suitable return for farmers, and to quickly complete registration of farmers joining the rice price guarantee programme.

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will be responsible for a public relations campaign to ensure that farmers benefit more from the new programme, said the spokesman.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-07-21

[thaiphoon]

The original scheme was designed to help the poor farmers in the north and north east .... but that did not work as those in the central area profited from growing several crops a year due to different weather patterns. It remains to be seen if this 'new plan' achieves what it hopes to achive ... TIT

[glegolo]

The original scheme was designed to help the poor farmers in the north and north east .... but that did not work as those in the central area profited from growing several crops a year due to different weather patterns. It remains to be seen if this 'new plan' achieves what it hopes to achive ... TIT

----------------------------

Good post!!!!

glegolo

[teletiger]

Another view.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8130187.stm

Regards.

[Maizefarmer]

Will it work?

Not likely.

[473geo]

Is this also a way of manipulating the seling price of rice - to be competative in the world markets

Wholesaler buys at say 8 baht a kg - government subsidises (pays farmer) say 3 baht a kg sell price 11 baht

Wholesaler can compete in competative market place - farmer gets guaranteed 11 baht a kg

Or am I just rambling??

[Samuian]

Another view.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8130187.stm

Regards.

Good article indeed, but how Mr.Head manages to get Mr.Thaksin into this article is simply amazing - ah' well, after all it is "Amazing Thailand" or is it?

but somehow it shows he had his fingers in everything...just everything!

When world rice prices soared last year, everyone assumed that farmers in Thailand – for many years the world’s top rice exporter – must have done well.

Some did. But only those in the central plains region, which get irrigation from the Chaophraya River.

They grow up to three crops a year, mostly higher yield varieties than jasmine.

That is where most of Thailand’s exports come from.

The indebtedness and poverty of farmers was ignored for decades by governments in Bangkok.

Then in the 2001 election, a wealthy telecoms tycoon, Thaksin Shinawatra, drew up a platform of policies aimed directly at farmers, like debt forgiveness and a village loan fund.

It proved a stunningly successful vote-winning strategy, delivering Mr Thaksin three successive election victories, before he was ousted by a coup in September 2006.

But many of those policies have done less for farmers than Mr Thaksin claimed. ...............

After all there is some truth in the last line - but then the scam unfolds...

....the scheme has become riddled with corruption, and benefits only a minority of farmers.

“Most of them, unfortunately, are rich farmers with irrigation,” says economist Nipon Poapongsakorn from the Thailand Development Research Institute..................

“Poor farmers in the north-east don’t have a surplus of rice to sell, so they don’t benefit from this policy at all. It is a pro-rich, pro-business policy”..............

The scheme is also very expensive for the government, especially now, because last year – when rice prices were unusually volatile – a weak government, led by Mr Thaksin’s allies, set the guaranteed price too high.

and yes..... now who is pointing his fingers at the government which is struggling to keep with whose promises?

He estimates it has already cost 11 billion baht ($325m) just to process and store crops bought under the mortgage scheme.

And because rice prices have fallen this year, when the government sells the stocks he estimates it will lose another 20 billion baht ($590m).

..........

There is a strong suspicion, shared by Mr Kobsak, that a lot of politicians are making money out of the scheme – perhaps from bribes from warehouse-keepers storing it, or traders trying to buy at bargain prices.

yeah the fruits of corruption....

Source:

...it is the grand scheme in this country those who work hardest get, the smallest share, those who don;t do not much at all, but tend their connections get the most...

...hope it can be fixed soon!

[zzaa09]

Will it work?

Not likely.

My instincts are largely supiscious. The first thing I think of towards the government and corporate financial institutions is there genuine sincerity towards our well-being....

[zzaa09]

Is this also a way of manipulating the seling price of rice - to be competative in the world markets

Wholesaler buys at say 8 baht a kg - government subsidises (pays farmer) say 3 baht a kg sell price 11 baht

Wholesaler can compete in competative market place - farmer gets guaranteed 11 baht a kg

Or am I just rambling??

Local and regional collectives {without govt/middleman} are becoming quite established. If we talk of a free and 'competitive' market, then we should walk it to. Without official intervention. Some regions, presently, receive more then your Bht11 per kilo.......

[473geo]

Is this also a way of manipulating the seling price of rice - to be competative in the world markets

Wholesaler buys at say 8 baht a kg - government subsidises (pays farmer) say 3 baht a kg sell price 11 baht

Wholesaler can compete in competative market place - farmer gets guaranteed 11 baht a kg

Or am I just rambling??

Local and regional collectives {without govt/middleman} are becoming quite established. If we talk of a free and 'competitive' market, then we should walk it to. Without official intervention. Some regions, presently, receive more then your Bht11 per kilo.......

The numbers were merely a guide to assist in the explanation of the mechanism as I saw it......not a reflection current prices which are clearly variable....my point was,with the baht faring so well, and pushing the relative price of Thai rice up in the world markets....would this mechanism be a method repairing some of the negative margin disruption for the wholesalers?

[gouda]

has anyone registered for this scheme yet? how do you go about this?

and does anyone know how exactly it works..or where I can find more info..

have tried asking some farming people but they are too sure themselves, have heard it only applies to dried rice but could be just dodgy translation

also what about the previous rice mortgage scheme ? did anyone take part in that? did they have to wait 3 months after selling the rice to collect the money? if someone could explain to me how that was supposed to work in theory and in practice would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance