Rice-Pledging: 'Huge Loss' On The Cards

[letitbe]

Yes, that is correct. Rice pleding should be a big loss to the government, hence a big win for the poor rural ill-educated farmers, who turns out to be human too.

Or who you rather the government make a big profit from such scheme? On the back of poor rural ill-educated farmers?

it always amazes me how naive and stupid some people can be Are you really that misguided or simply a devoted party follower where the means justify the end or as Stalin said about some supporters useful idiots

Edited January 28, 2012 by soundman
Messed up quotes.

[warfie]

Any scheme which pays an artificially high price for any commodity is going to cost someone. Whether it is rice, rubber or tapioca.

Add the "skimming" which will be inherent to any bureaucracy and of course, you will have huge losses.

Has it really taken this long for people to realize this?!?!?!

[teetersb]

And to ensure maximum loss to the tax-payers.

Not sure that I agree. The cost to-the-government ought to be the same, it's the middle-men who may be trying to divert more of the benefit their own way, and short-changing the farmers.

Hopefully the government will strive to ensure that this doesn't happen ? Or perhaps not, if they're still focused on the rights of one man, overseas ?

Well the point is the middlemen should be removed from the equation.

The farmers should sell raw stock direct to government agents,

then the government contracts the millers.

Agreed! But, the farmers Can't sell their rice to government agents unless they have a land title, which many do not have. Additionally, the Agent can only purchase a (unknown) percentage of the potential harvest. For example: I have 6 rai and I have a great harvest of 6 tons, but the Agent can only purchase 4 tons! I also lease the neighbors 6 rai, but I can't sell any of that rice because it is not my farm. That is where the middlemen make huge profits, because the middlemen buy the rice at 20-25% under market price from disenfranchised farmers and then sell it to the government for full price.

This policy/practice is easily remedied by removing the barriers from the small farmer and putting restrictions on the middlemen, but that is not likely to happen here.

[TAWP]

Agreed! But, the farmers Can't sell their rice to government agents unless they have a land title, which many do not have. Additionally, the Agent can only purchase a (unknown) percentage of the potential harvest. For example: I have 6 rai and I have a great harvest of 6 tons, but the Agent can only purchase 4 tons! I also lease the neighbors 6 rai, but I can't sell any of that rice because it is not my farm. That is where the middlemen make huge profits, because the middlemen buy the rice at 20-25% under market price from disenfranchised farmers and then sell it to the government for full price.

This policy/practice is easily remedied by removing the barriers from the small farmer and putting restrictions on the middlemen, but that is not likely to happen here.

If that policies/rules are in place then they should immediately be removed.

Anything that prohibits all actors in the market equal access to the free market is a disgrace clearly a corporatist slant on the market place.

Most likely stemming from corruption/protectionism and nothing to do with food safety etc.

[animatic]

Agreed! But, the farmers Can't sell their rice to government agents unless they have a land title, which many do not have. Additionally, the Agent can only purchase a (unknown) percentage of the potential harvest. For example: I have 6 rai and I have a great harvest of 6 tons, but the Agent can only purchase 4 tons! I also lease the neighbors 6 rai, but I can't sell any of that rice because it is not my farm. That is where the middlemen make huge profits, because the middlemen buy the rice at 20-25% under market price from disenfranchised farmers and then sell it to the government for full price.

This policy/practice is easily remedied by removing the barriers from the small farmer and putting restrictions on the middlemen, but that is not likely to happen here.

If that policies/rules are in place then they should immediately be removed.

Anything that prohibits all actors in the market equal access to the free market is a disgrace clearly a corporatist slant on the market place.

Most likely stemming from corruption/protectionism and nothing to do with food safety etc.

Yes rather than make the government pay more,

change the RULES to favor farmers.

"But, the farmers Can't sell their rice to government agents unless they have a land title"

This of course doesn't help the vote deliverers....

which is why they haven't changed the rules.

[OzMick]

And to ensure maximum loss to the tax-payers.

Not sure that I agree. The cost to-the-government ought to be the same, it's the middle-men who may be trying to divert more of the benefit their own way, and short-changing the farmers.

Hopefully the government will strive to ensure that this doesn't happen ? Or perhaps not, if they're still focused on the rights of one man, overseas ?

Well the point is the middlemen should be removed from the equation.

The farmers should sell raw stock direct to government agents,

then the government contracts the millers.

Agreed! But, the farmers Can't sell their rice to government agents unless they have a land title, which many do not have. Additionally, the Agent can only purchase a (unknown) percentage of the potential harvest. For example: I have 6 rai and I have a great harvest of 6 tons, but the Agent can only purchase 4 tons! I also lease the neighbors 6 rai, but I can't sell any of that rice because it is not my farm. That is where the middlemen make huge profits, because the middlemen buy the rice at 20-25% under market price from disenfranchised farmers and then sell it to the government for full price.

This policy/practice is easily remedied by removing the barriers from the small farmer and putting restrictions on the middlemen, but that is not likely to happen here.

Hmmmm - it seems to be me the restrictions might be a means to limit subsidies claimed for smuggled Cambodian rice. Of course, if you were wealthy, owned land leased to poorer farmers, you might be able to claim the subsidy on import with your land title?

Thank you for the information, was news to me.

[TAWP]

If rice was sold without subsidies or guaranteed payment from government than no-one would be smuggling it here and sell it for that purpose atleast. So that sounds like a retro-fitted reason for the rules.

[Buchholz]

Irregularities in state rice pledging scheme reported in Northeast

BANGKOK, 22 February 2012 (NNT) – The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has reported some irregularities surrounding the government's rice pledging scheme in the northeastern part of the country.

Mr. Supat Eauchai, Senior Vice President of BAAC, said on Tuesday that a group of unscrupulous people in the Northeast have subrogated* local farmers, who are eligible to pledge their in-season rice with the government but have not fully exercised their rights.

Currently, an investigation has been launched while the BAAC has suspended the payout for farmers, who came to pledge their rice for the second time before the end of the scheme of February 29 and appeared suspicious.

Mr. Supat said that initial probe found that farmers, who agree to let the others exercise their rights, received THB10,000 in return.

In a related development, the BAAC is preparing to launch the rice pledging scheme for the off-season crop, which is expected to begin on March 1.

The Bank has estimated that around 8 million tons of off-season rice will be pledged this time and it should need THB120 Billion to complete the scheme.

And in order to prevent any form of irregularities, the BAAC will put a cap on the value of rice that each farmer can pledge at THB500,000.

-- NNT 2012-02-22

subrogate - substitute one creditor for another, as in the case where an insurance company sues the person who caused an accident for the insured

[Buchholz]

Agricultural price-pledging policy has failed

Six months since the implementation of the price-pledging scheme for farm goods, it is time the Yingluck government reviewed the policy, which has cost Thailand more than Bt300 billion and left farmers unhappy as commodities prices remain low.

Since October, the government has spent a combined Bt301.27 billion to support price pledging of rice, cassava, garlic and red onions. But the policy has failed to shore up prices of these commodities, due to inefficiencies in the project. The government has focused exclusively on implementing the pledging scheme to encourage price increases, but has failed to support farming, marketing and trading processes, resulting in sluggish trade in both the export and domestic markets.

As it always does, the pledging system has led to corruption relating to the release of government stockpiles. Taxpayers will no longer be willing to subsidise farmers to the tune of billions of baht, while loopholes in the pledging and releasing processes allow corruption that benefits a small group of people.

Thai farmers' production costs for most commodities are higher than in neighbouring countries, while yield per rai is much lower. The Pheu Thai-led government does not have a plan to lower production costs or promote sustainable development of farming, and simply spends the national budget on short-term subsidies.

The production cost of Thai rice farming is Bt6,000-Bt7,000 per rai, while the cost of Vietnamese production is Bt4,900-Bt5,000 per rai. Vietnam has an average yield of 862 kilograms per rai, against a Thai yield of 448kg.

The current domestic market price of paddy rice is Bt9,000-Bt10,000 a tonne, while the pledging price is Bt15,000. Thai rice export volumes plunged by 50.3 per cent to 1.03 million tonnes from January to March 5 this year, as Thai rice is far more expensive than its competitors' crops. The government is expected to spend at least Bt220 billion on the two pledging projects for the main and second rice harvests between October last year and June this year.

Thai cassava production and yield per rai have dropped gradually over the past 10 years, while the budget for shoring up the price of the commodity has doubled this year under the government’s pledging scheme, requiring Bt40 billion for the current harvest season.

The price of cassava remains low at Bt1.30-Bt1.90 per kilo, while the pledging price is Bt2.75-2.90. Pledging of cassava began in February. While it aimed at shoring up the market price, traders have not been able to agree on a high pledging price since it does not reflect the market mechanism.

The cost of cassava production in Thailand, excluding breeding costs, is 85 satang per kilo, compared with 77 satang per kilo in Vietnam and 61 satang in Cambodia.

So far, less than 700,000 tonnes of cassava have entered the pledging project, compared to the target of 10 million tonnes.

The government recently came under pressure from thousands of garlic farmers in the North to extend its pledging scheme to cover the entire garlic crop. The government allocated only Bt70 million for garlic pledging, but this year production has exceeded 46 million kg. The government needs to raise its pledging budget for garlic to Bt1.6 billion if it wants to purchase all of the garlic supply in order to shore up the price.

Garlic growers have complained that they are suffering; the price of the crop has fallen to Bt7-Bt9 per kg, less than the production cost of Bt10 a kilo.

Last year, garlic traded at Bt30-Bt40/kg. Farmers say the government has implemented the pledging project inefficiently, without regard for total production.

The Bt70 million budget assigned to the Internal Trade Department to purchase garlic at Bt40 per kilo would be unable to shore up the price, as production has exceeded the government's expectations.

The budget for red-onion pledging was set at Bt1.2 billion. However, the current retail price is only Bt7-Bt8 a kilo, while the production cost is Bt5-Bt6 a kilo.

The government faces a problem of deteriorating quality of red onions. Bt289 million worth of the pledged crop is rotten. As a result, the government cannot release stockpiles to realise a return after subsidising the crop, as stockpiling has been done inefficiently.

Rather than increasing farmers' dependence on subsidies, which lead to huge losses each year, the government should support the development of farming, marketing and trading to allow the market mechanism to do its work.

The government should also encourage farmers to aim higher and upgrade their quality to ensure competitiveness ahead of the launch of seamless trade under the Asean Economic Community. Thailand can no longer afford to subsidise farmers' goods in the era of liberalisation.

-- The Nation 2012-03-12

[Ricardo]

I would suggest that, with world-prices for rice lower than the Thai government on-selling-price, they will continue to have problems shifting the stocks which they're building-up. Not that the middle-men, who support the politicians & deliver the vote, could care.

The Thai Rice-Mountain, coming shortly to a warehouse near you, it'll take a Miracle Thailand to shift it !

Anyone else recall the government having to pay further money, to dump the dried-fruit, which had gone rotten in the warehouses while waiting for prices to rise ? Rice too has a shelf-life !

[Reasonableman]

I would suggest that, with world-prices for rice lower than the Thai government on-selling-price, they will continue to have problems shifting the stocks which they're building-up. Not that the middle-men, who support the politicians & deliver the vote, could care.

The Thai Rice-Mountain, coming shortly to a warehouse near you, it'll take a Miracle Thailand to shift it !

Anyone else recall the government having to pay further money, to dump the dried-fruit, which had gone rotten in the warehouses while waiting for prices to rise ? Rice too has a shelf-life !

Red onion slurry is not particularly marketable, either.

[TAWP]

The production cost of Thai rice farming is Bt6,000-Bt7,000 per rai, while the cost of Vietnamese production is Bt4,900-Bt5,000 per rai. Vietnam has an average yield of 862 kilograms per rai, against a Thai yield of 448kg.

Now that sounds like a problem they can start trying to tackle instead...

[Ricardo]

I would suggest that, with world-prices for rice lower than the Thai government on-selling-price, they will continue to have problems shifting the stocks which they're building-up. Not that the middle-men, who support the politicians & deliver the vote, could care.

The Thai Rice-Mountain, coming shortly to a warehouse near you, it'll take a Miracle Thailand to shift it !

Anyone else recall the government having to pay further money, to dump the dried-fruit, which had gone rotten in the warehouses while waiting for prices to rise ? Rice too has a shelf-life !

Red onion slurry is not particularly marketable, either.

And Lo, before our very eyes, a new 'green' OTOP-endorsed mosquito-repellant is born !

[rubl]

The production cost of Thai rice farming is Bt6,000-Bt7,000 per rai, while the cost of Vietnamese production is Bt4,900-Bt5,000 per rai. Vietnam has an average yield of 862 kilograms per rai, against a Thai yield of 448kg.

Now that sounds like a problem they can start trying to tackle instead...

Increase daily wages ?

[TAWP]

Increased output - if the Vietnamese have double output to almost half cost then they have a ROI of 3-4 times as high as Thailand.

[Thai at Heart]

The production cost of Thai rice farming is Bt6,000-Bt7,000 per rai, while the cost of Vietnamese production is Bt4,900-Bt5,000 per rai. Vietnam has an average yield of 862 kilograms per rai, against a Thai yield of 448kg.

Now that sounds like a problem they can start trying to tackle instead...

I have heard this exact statistic parroted from a friend of mine who used to work for an EU agency in Laos helping to develop rice growing.

There are a myriad of reasons, but, safe to say, getting farmers to change the way they do things in Thailand is extremely difficult. Add in cartels on inputs, and lack of interest from the agricultural ministry, and nothing moves forward.

As far as I know, the yield statistics are about in line with what I have heard, which in and of itself is actually quite disturbing.

[Buchholz]

Corruption Probe into Rice Pledging Scheme Progressing

The rice pledging scheme authorities of Buriram Province have been calling on farmers and other relevant authorities to give an interview after the Bank of Agriculture and Cooperatives halted payments to over 500 farmers.

The corruption probe into the rice pledging program in Buriram Province continues after the Bank of Agriculture and Cooperatives was ordered to delay the payment worth 84 million baht to 575 farmers in Chalerm Prakiet, Nang Rong, Nong Ki, Plubplachai and Kandong districts.

Currently, the rice pledging scheme authorities of Nong Ki Subdistrict of Buriram Province have been interviewing the farmers whose payments have been delayed and the officials who have been responsible for the rice pledging areas.

After the authorities found that the amount of pledged rice reported by the local officials is more than the amount that the local farmers reported to the officials.

Nong Ki Sub-district Chief, Acting Rice Pledging Scheme Investigation President Chakorn Kunjanawatta disclosed that the authorities will ask the rice mills owners and the Public Warehouse Organization officials or PWO to give more information.

He expected to wrap up the case within 2 weeks. Then, the initial investigation report will be passed to the provincial rice pledging scheme committee to reconsider once.

Due to the National Rice Policy Committee consideration, it has not been confirmed when the affected farmers will be receive their payments from the Bank of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The investigation procedure should be completed in one month.

-- Tan Network 2012-03-13

[Buchholz]

Buriram Rice Pledging Under Probe

The Buriram trade office launched a corruption probe into the rice pledging program after the agriculture bank puts its payment to farmers on hold due to suspected fraud.

Chief of Buriram Provincial Internal Trade Office, Suthisak Prombutr said the office's sub-panel is expediting the investigation into the price pledging program for rice paddies for the 2011/2012 season which ended on February 29.

Suthisak remarked that there has been fraud in the scheme, which has led the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, or BAAC, to halt its combined 84 million baht payment to roughly 500 farmers in Buriram's five districts.

Suthisak expects that the investigation will be completed in the near future as to allow the bank to proceed with payment for farmers who are found innocent.

He then said legal action must be brought against farmers, state officials and millers who are participating in the scam.

Suthisak added that farmers who are found guilty will also be disqualified from seeking the BAAC's loan.

Meanwhile, Udon Thani Governor Kaenpetch Chuangrangsi reported that the province's pledging program, which ran between October 7 last year and February this year, has taken a combined 49,000 tons of rice from 18,000 farmers.

Kaenpetch said 48 farmers are suspected of having cheated, given that the quantity of the rice pledged to the program exceeded what was registered and the province's average output.

He said he has assigned a panel to monitor the scheme and investigate any possible fraud. The panel will report its findings to him in seven days so that it might take legal action.

-- Tan Network 2012-03-14

[TAWP]

If there was no 'free' money, there would be no opportunity to cheat.

[Buchholz]

Irregularities in state rice pledging scheme reported in Northeast

Agricultural price-pledging policy has failed

Corruption Probe into Rice Pledging Scheme Progressing

Buriram Rice Pledging Under Probe

Commerce Ministry content with the progress in state rice pledging program

BANGKOK, 23 March 2012 (NNT) – The Commerce Ministry has been satisfied with the progress in the state rice pledging program, after a considerable number of farmers have joined in the campaign.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said on Thursday that more and more rice farmers have continued to bring their crops to join in the government-initiated rice pledging program.

Mr. Boonsong said that more than 1.2 million tons of rice have been pledged so far.

He stated that the rice pledging program has helped add more cash to the farmers' pockets, due to a substantial increase in rice price from between 6,000 and 7,000 baht per ton to 15,000 baht a ton.

The Commerce Minister added that all farmers, who have taken part in the project, are in the process of delivering rice crops to the government's stock.

-- NNT 2012-03-23

Edited March 23, 2012 by Buchholz

[Reasonableman]

These 2 reports seem incompatible

The Nation:

Six months since the implementation of the price-pledging scheme for farm goods, it is time the Yingluck government reviewed the policy, which has cost Thailand more than Bt300 billion and left farmers unhappy as commodities prices remain low.

Since October, the government has spent a combined Bt301.27 billion to support price pledging of rice, cassava, garlic and red onions. But the policy has failed to shore up prices of these commodities, due to inefficiencies in the project. The government has focused exclusively on implementing the pledging scheme to encourage price increases, but has failed to support farming, marketing and trading processes, resulting in sluggish trade in both the export and domestic markets.

….

Thai farmers’ production costs for most commodities are higher than in neighbouring countries, while yield per rai is much lower. The Pheu Thai-led government does not have a plan to lower production costs or promote sustainable development of farming, and simply spends the national budget on short-term subsidies.

The production cost of Thai rice farming is Bt6,000-Bt7,000 per rai, while the cost of Vietnamese production is Bt4,900-Bt5,000 per rai. Vietnam has an average yield of 862 kilograms per rai, against a Thai yield of 448kg.

The current domestic market price of paddy rice is Bt9,000-Bt10,000 a tonne, while the pledging price is Bt15,000. Thai rice export volumes plunged by 50.3 per cent to 1.03 million tonnes from January to March 5 this year, as Thai rice is far more expensive than its competitors’ crops. The government is expected to spend at least Bt220 billion on the two pledging projects for the main and second rice harvests between October last year and June this year

Edited March 23, 2012 by Reasonableman

[TAWP]

From my wallet into someone else's - tax-money stolen from me and given to someone else...or stolen again by corruption.

[Buchholz]

From my wallet into someone else's - tax-money stolen from me and given to someone else...or stolen again by corruption.

With staggering sums involved.... 301,270,000,000.00 Baht with this pledging scheme.

And with an additional eye-popping 2,148,650,000,000.00 Baht (Trillion with a "T") for this plan

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/prime-minister-yingluck-shinawatra-pledged-invest-11-4-photo-095744181.html

[Buchholz]

Government urged to ensure transparency at rice pledging

Rice traders yesterday warned about a repeat of bidding collusion, which would see the government's main stockpile fall in the hands of a giant exporter and trader and cause problems for Thai rice trading in the future.

The government will on Monday open bidding for 753,000 tonnes of rice, of which 210,000 tonnes are targeted for export.

A rice trader said the government must ensure transparency in the auction, as some exporters could collude and win a big lot like in the past.

According to a report to the Commerce Ministry, Siam Indiga - known as the new marketing arm of the bankrupt President Agri Trading - has become the country's third-largest rice exporter behind Capital Rice and Asian Golden Rice.

President Agri Trading was the biggest rice exporter during the Thaksin administration and bagged a big lot of government rice in 2005.

Siam Indiga is also responsible for distributing government rice to other exporters under the government-to-government project for the current government. The firm was employed to deliver rice to Indonesia this year when Kittiratt Na-Ranong was Commerce Minister.

The firm recently received an order to supply Iraq and will ship more rice soon.

The report showed that Siam Indiga exported 344,000 tonnes of rice in the first four months of this year, up drastically from 228,000 tonnes in the same period last year, even as the country's total rice exports plunged 45.9 per cent to 4.1 million tonnes.

Rice traders believe that the government's plan to release 753,000 tonnes will force the market price down because of the big inventories carried by Thailand and India, despite rising concern over drought, which would hit output worldwide.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, Honorary President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said that inevitably the global and domestic prices of rice would decline following the government's bidding plan.

"The government's pledging programme will be unsuccessful in lifting rice prices. When the government announces the release of its huge inventory, the rice price will slide easily," he said.

The world market would still know that Thailand has massive rice stocks from the pledging scheme and that the government would need to gradually unload those stocks. This would cause rice prices to fall.

India, the world's largest rice exporter, also keeps a huge buffer stock of 34 million tonnes for exports. The rice price in the world market will not go up as easily as the government had planned.

Although the government will release rice to the market, that will not support Thai rice exports. Thailand is expected to achieve only 6.5 million - 7 million tonnes of shipments this year.

Although the government has claimed that it has huge export orders under government-to-government contracts, Thailand will be unable to ship 1 million - 1.2 million tonnes of rice each month for the rest of the year, he said.

According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association's report, the price of Thai rice has increased slightly this week because of higher demand from Nigeria.

As of yesterday, jasmine rice was at US$1,104 (Bt33,000) a tonne, up from $1,100 last Wednesday. The price of 5-per-cent white rice increased from $564 to $566 a tonne, while parboiled rice was up from $612 to $620. Thailand would this month be able to export about 500,000 tonnes of rice, of which 200,000 tonnes would be for Nigeria. The Nigerian government plans to hike rice import duties early next year, so importers are hurrying to lock in more parboiled rice from Thailand this year.

Somkiat Makcayathorn, President of the Thai Rice Packers Association, said the price of Thai rice would slide in line with the government's bidding.

"Traders will offer a lower quote at the auction as they need to shoulder some risks. The government needs to accept some losses from the bidding and the hike in pledging prices as the world market is aware of the huge supplies of Thai rice," he said.

The government may cancel Monday's tender again, as traders will offer low prices, he added.

However, Charnchai Ratthananon, President of the Thai Rice Millers Association, expects rice prices to increase soon due to the serious drought in many countries, which would reduce cereal crops. If the drought is prolonged for two more weeks in the Northeast of Thailand, rice production would be affected and lead to higher prices this year, he added.

-- The Nation 2012-08-23

[Moruya]

And to ensure maximum loss to the tax-payers.

Not sure that I agree. The cost to-the-government ought to be the same, it's the middle-men who may be trying to divert more of the benefit their own way, and short-changing the farmers.

Hopefully the government will strive to ensure that this doesn't happen ? Or perhaps not, if they're still focused on the rights of one man, overseas ?

Well the point is the middlemen should be removed from the equation.

The farmers should sell raw stock direct to government agents,

then the government contracts the millers.

Think of all those wealthy people that would lose out. Impoverished!

[Ricardo]

And to ensure maximum loss to the tax-payers.

Not sure that I agree. The cost to-the-government ought to be the same, it's the middle-men who may be trying to divert more of the benefit their own way, and short-changing the farmers.

Hopefully the government will strive to ensure that this doesn't happen ? Or perhaps not, if they're still focused on the rights of one man, overseas ?

Well the point is the middlemen should be removed from the equation.

The farmers should sell raw stock direct to government agents,

then the government contracts the millers.

Think of all those wealthy people that would lose out. Impoverished!

Sales of up-market imported-cars would plummet, but perhaps the manufacturers of the Thai iron-buffalo might bring out a DL (De Luxe) version, as the farmers finally get the rewards they earn ?

[Buchholz]

Thai rice haul seen winning votes as sales drop

For Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s ruling party, keeping the farmers that form its political base happy is more important than retaining the country’s 30-year position as the world’s top rice exporter. Shippers, including the 100-year-old Kamolkij Group, and opposition politicians have vilified the government’s policy to buy rice at above-market rates, saying the measure is putting exporters out of business and encouraging corruption.

“In the long run, if the program is kept as is, it will impact the fiscal policy space and therefore pose a risk to the ability to spend on infrastructure,” said Santitarn Sathirathai, a Singapore-based economist at Credit Suisse Group AG. “The key question is whether there are better ways to spend 1 percent of GDP worth of money on more growth enhancing and equality-improving activities.”

The government spent about 260 billion baht to purchase 16 million tons of unmilled grain from about 2 million farmers since the program began in October. An income-support program implemented by the previous government, headed by now-opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, provided about 67 billion baht in direct payments to 4 million rice farmers in the 2010-2011 production year, according to the state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

Continued:

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/world/31704-thai-rice-haul-seen-winning-votes-as-sales-drop

Bloomberg - August 23, 2012

[Skywalker69]

Well, well isn't that a surprise.

The rich get richer and the poor get shafted,

again.

Nothing new under the sun.

[Buchholz]

The government spent about 260 billion baht to purchase 16 million tons of unmilled grain from about 2 million farmers since the program began in October.

Time to infuse more money into the scheme...

PM to request THB400 Billion for rice pledging scheme

BANGKOK, 15 September 2012 (NNT) – Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will ask the Cabinet to approve her request for 400 billion baht to sponsor a new round of the Commerce Ministry’s rice pledging scheme.

The PM has promised that the rice program will be carried out in a transparent manner despite rumors of corruption.

PM Yingluck on Saturday appeared on her weekly TV show set in Krabi Province, with four ministers and the chief of the Royal Irrigation Department.

She said a new round of rice pledging for Phitsanulok rice farmers would start on 1 October 2012. Her trip to Phitsanulok on Thursday was to check that the rice pledging process was corruption-free.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom who accompanied the premier to Krabi said the ministry would appoint more rice pledging committee members from the civil sector in order to help maintain transparency.

The minister remarked that corruption would be difficult to take place after the PM had instructed government units responsible for the rice pledging scheme to connect their database on the participating rice farmers.

-- NNT 2012-09-15

Edited September 15, 2012 by Buchholz

[rubl]

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will ask the Cabinet to approve her request for 400 billion baht to sponsor a new round of the Commerce Ministry's rice pledging scheme.

Wasn't it THB 360 billion with upto THB 120 (160?) billion expected from sales of government stock?

So THB 350 billion to cover a multi-year flood prevention plan and THB 400 billion to pledge rice prices to a higher level Thai people have to pay from their taxes and when buying for daily consumption. All farmers rice by now I guess?