Thai Government Will Continue With Rice Pledging Scheme

[webfact]

Government will continue with rice pledging scheme

BANGKOK, Oct 13 -- The government will go ahead the rice pledging scheme and would speed up the release of rice from stockpiles, according to Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom.

Mr Boonsong stood in for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on the premier's weekly televised programme "Yingluck Government Meets the People."

Also appearing on the programme were President of Thailand Trade Representative Olarn Chaipravat, Fiscal Policy Research Institute Foundation Director Kanit Sangsubhan, Permanent Secretary for Commerce Vatchari Vimooktayon, and Department of Foreign Trade Director General Pranee Siriphand.

The premier reportedly assigned the officials involved to join the programme to clarify the benefits of the government's rice pledging scheme to the public.

Mr Boonsong said the rice pledging scheme could help improve farmers' quality of life.

He also affirmed that the government would speed up the release of rice in its stockpiles in order to have more space for the next round of rice pledging scheme.

The government has continuously released rice from its stockpiles via auctions, and government to government or G to G deals, he said, adding that relations between the government and rice exporters remained strong.

Ms Yingluck earlier this week reassured the public that the government's rice pledging scheme would not cause further losses but would benefit farmers.

The premier emphasised that her government did sell rice through government-to-government deals to other countries including some ASEAN countries. Initially, more than 8 million tonnes of rice have been delivered. The details, however, could not be disclosed. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-10-13

[WhizBang]

Blah... blah... blah... yada... yada... yada...

Change the record already.

[OzMick]

"The government has continuously released rice from its stockpiles..........."

Which means sold at a loss because nobody else will pay the price that they paid.

[dcutman]

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom again insisted that he had sold 7.3 million tonnes of rice to foreign governments, including China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

"Around 1.4 million tonnes of rice has already been shipped to those countries," he told reporters. He has declined to go into detail.

Exporters and industry officials have seen no evidence of such sales at the ports or in statistics. Both Indonesia and the Philippines have denied any such deal and there has been no word from China.

Export data from the Ministry of Commerce shows rice shipments of around 5 million tonnes so far this year, down 44 percent from the same period last year.

The question is...

How do you make 3 million tons of rice disappear? Commerce Ministry says 5 million tons have been sold to date. Not sure but I think they keep the real records.

Ask Yingluck and her nights in shining armor say 8 million tons. I am sure they can explain.

[Skywalker69]

Now the Goverment cant remove the pledge, if they do they will have a ricefarmer riot.

[waza]

Hmmm nothing new here, Thaksin has already made this announcement.

[hellodolly]

Head Lines from another thread they are looking at a warehouse of 30,000 square meters and looking for other buildings to store this rice. That they say they are selling.

Pretty good trick like having your cake and eating it to.rumor is they got twelve loafs of bread and three fish and are going to feed the nation with them for a year or two.

• 
  
• Admin
  
• 
  
• 68,944 posts
  

Posted Today, 06:46

Thailand readies airport warehouse to store record stocks of rice

By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai government plans to use an old airport warehouse and is desperately hunting for more storage space for a mountain of rice that has resulted from a subsidy scheme that won it votes but which is now sapping the treasury.

Traders estimate the government has a record 12 million tonnes of milled rice in stockpiles, bought in a controversial intervention scheme under which it pays farmers way above the market price for their grain.

"We have prepared a 30,000 square metre warehouse at Don Muang Airport for the government to store rice and we are asking around whether other government organisations have any space left for keeping rice," Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan said on Friday.

The old Bangkok airport recently reopened after extensive refurbishment made necessary by flooding a year ago.

[Ricardo]

Hmmm nothing new here, Thaksin has already made this announcement.

\

"Thaksin Speaks, PTP Promises to Act More Quickly !"

Yay for Red Economic Mis-Management !

[OzMick]

The 2 highly involved parties in this scheme are happy with it.

PTP is buying votes with other people's money, and those on the receiving end are pocketing it. Even the meager trickle-down that actually reaches farmers is something, and they can dream that somehow the full amount promised may actually reach them.

The dozing 800lb gorilla in the room is the rest of the Thai people, who one can only hope will wake up to realise that this scam is wasting THEIR money.

[FOODLOVER]

Curious as to what happens if as previously alluded to by another poster it is found that Thailand is selling to nations such as Syria, Iran and North Korea? They would be willing to pay a premium and would certainly give a good reason for hiding these deals.