Thai Cabinet Backs Rice Budget, Other Projects

[webfact]

Cabinet backs rice budget, other projects
The Nation
Chachoengsao


Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday meets with the abbot of Wat Phra Buddha Sothorn in Chachoengsao, before the mobile Cabinet meeting at Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University.

BANGKOK: -- The mobile Cabinet yesterday approved the rice pledging scheme for the 2012/2013 fiscal year, worth Bt105 billion in total, proposed by the Commerce Ministry.

Under the scheme, about seven million tonnes of rice will be bought from farmers, down from 9.2 million tonnes previously anticipated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, as yields have been hit by drought in some areas.

Spokesperson Tosaporn Serirak said Cabinet gave a green light to the BAAC (Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives) to borrow money to facilitate the liquidity of the scheme, especially in the event that rice is not released in time.

The BAAC will also be allowed to get more loans while waiting for the distribution or resale of rice from

government storage - so it can retain liquidity at an appropriate level for deposit clients.

In other moves:

lCabinet also approved moves to try to control millers, farmers or others who try to cheat the scheme, especially if they purchase "young rice" aged less than 110 days. Any rice mill caught doing this would be punished with three to five years on a state blacklist.

lMinisters also backed a Bt600-million budget to develop Chachoengsao and four nearby provinces, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said.

She said each of the five provinces was granted Bt100 million for development projects and another Bt100 million was granted for the development of the five provinces as a group.

Developments would be carried out in line with the overall national strategy and provincial plans.

Yingluck said the budget would support logistics development from Laem Chabang port to the central provinces. The money also would be spent for promotion of conservation tourism, she said. But Cabinet was yet to consider off-budget projects in these provinces, she noted.

lCabinet also decided to extend free third-class train and non-air-conditioned bus services for another six months to help low-income earners cope with the rising cost of living. The extension period is from today until September 30.

It also set aside Bt2.06 billion as compensation for Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and the State Railway of Thailand.

lThe Cabinet has decided to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan on the exchange of information to prevent and crack down on human trafficking. Deputy spokesperson Sunisa Lertpakawat said the MoU was aimed at the exchange, access and use of information on human trafficking, including keeping information confidential.


-- The Nation 2013-04-01

[siampolee]

The debt machine keeps rolling along to the detriment of the man and the woman in the street.Meanwhile Thaksin, his family and their brown nosing acolytes continues to fill their coffers with the loot from the states coffers.

That looting of the states coffers is visibly demonstrated by the fact that the B.A.A.C. a state owned bank is to be allowed to take on more debt so as to be able to pay the bills of the current maladministration, yet these debt burdens are so as the B.A.A.C.can retain its supposed mythical liquidity for its current depositors.

Indeed a wonderful policy,, the taxpayer foots the bill for the corruption in the current ongoing rice scam scheme and when insolvency hits the B.A.A.C. (as it will) the taxpayer will be footing the bill for that cleanup operation.

A comment that if it wasn't so pathetic it might well raise a laugh is the comment that the cabinet ''are going to try to control the millers and the farmers who try to cheat the scam scheme.''

No doubt these suspects are eating into the ill gotten gains of Thaksin, his family and their brown nosing acolytes, hence the proposed action, Corrupt cannibalism rules.

First rule of the Thaksin clan , ''What is ours is ours, what you think is yours is also ours and what you think you will have is also ours.''

Machiavelli would indeed be proud of the legacy that he has given to Thaksin, his family and their brown nosing acolytes.

Edited April 1, 2013 by siampolee

[Ricardo]

So the poor farmer now has to wait 110 days, before he can attempt to sell his rice to the mill, under the PTP's pledging-scheme ? Very helpful of the Cabinet !

And the drought has reduced the amount planned to be purchased, even though the main crop this year has yet to be planted, and won't be until the monsoon arrives in a couple of months' time ? Clearly nothing to do with PTP trying to weasel out of their promises !

And rather than paying the BAAC what it owes them, the government continues to insist that it borrow more, to fund the government's promises to the farmers. Have the Cabinet given-up all hope of actually selling some of their warehoused-stocks, and raising the money from the sale at-a-loss, instead ?

Yay for Red Financial-Management !

[jonclark]

Perhaps PTP are using the gold in Loei to help with the rice pledging scheme - Rice for gold!!!

Thailand gets more surreal by the day.

[OzMick]

So the poor farmer now has to wait 110 days, before he can attempt to sell his rice to the mill, under the PTP's pledging-scheme ? Very helpful of the Cabinet !

And the drought has reduced the amount planned to be purchased, even though the main crop this year has yet to be planted, and won't be until the monsoon arrives in a couple of months' time ? Clearly nothing to do with PTP trying to weasel out of their promises !

And rather than paying the BAAC what it owes them, the government continues to insist that it borrow more, to fund the government's promises to the farmers. Have the Cabinet given-up all hope of actually selling some of their warehoused-stocks, and raising the money from the sale at-a-loss, instead ?

Yay for Red Financial-Management !

Ummm..........I think "young rice" is grown less than 110 days, not stored. comes down to no concern for quality because the price is fixed (and inflated).

[Ricardo]

Ummm..........I think "young rice" is grown less than 110 days, not stored. comes down to no concern for quality because the price is fixed (and inflated).

Sorry, my misunderstanding of the OP, then.

[aguy30]

Interesting how they combined the rice scam with other kinds of projects that might actually improve Thailand. The idea of using government funds to buy rice at unrealistic inflated prices in order to "buy" votes is repulsive at best. The concept of the government buying it and then letting the rice just rot in warehouses is beyond comprehension.

Too bad the rice scam isn't an April Fools article instead of a pathetic joke on the country.

Edited April 1, 2013 by aguy30

[slapout]

At the rate this government is paying for storing rice, 800 baht per ton per month, Thai rice will appreciate in cost value by about 300 dollar US a ton per year. Some of the storage is for paddy which when milled will lise about 30 to 40 % of its weight, so you add the weight lose to the growing expense, of storage, spoilage, theft, fire, etc, the pitiful amount the cabinet budgeted is laughable. In fact it will not pay storage on the vast amount they have at present.

Edited April 1, 2013 by slapout

[Thai at Heart]

At the rate this government is paying for storing rice, 800 baht per ton per month, Thai rice will appreciate in cost value by about 300 dollar US a ton per year. Some of the storage is for paddy which when milled will lise about 30 to 40 % of its weight, so you add the weight lose to the growing expense, of storage, spoilage, theft, fire, etc, the pitiful amount the cabinet budgeted is laughable. In fact it will not pay storage on the vast amount they have at present.

If that monthly cost is true, that is a shockingly high figure

[jaiyen]

I wish all this rice pledging BS was an April Fools joke

[rubl]

... and because we are fiscally prudent we are (again) looking at raising the VAT from 7% to 8%, in due time that is, when the time is right.

"The director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance, Somchai Sujjapongse, said that the VAT may rise to 8 per cent from the current rate of 7 per cent, when the economy starts to realise the benefits of the government's infrastructure investment, which he believed to be within 7 years from now."http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/629951-thailand-live-monday-1-apr-2013/#entry6259929

[AleG]

... and because we are fiscally prudent we are (again) looking at raising the VAT from 7% to 8%, in due time that is, when the time is right.

"The director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance, Somchai Sujjapongse, said that the VAT may rise to 8 per cent from the current rate of 7 per cent, when the economy starts to realise the benefits of the government's infrastructure investment, which he believed to be within 7 years from now." http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/629951-thailand-live-monday-1-apr-2013/#entry6259929

They reduced corporate taxes by a third and now want to increase the VAT... PTP, the champion of the downtrodden masses.

[Thai at Heart]

... and because we are fiscally prudent we are (again) looking at raising the VAT from 7% to 8%, in due time that is, when the time is right.

"The director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance, Somchai Sujjapongse, said that the VAT may rise to 8 per cent from the current rate of 7 per cent, when the economy starts to realise the benefits of the government's infrastructure investment, which he believed to be within 7 years from now."http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/629951-thailand-live-monday-1-apr-2013/#entry6259929

I was waiting for this. The only way they can reliably generate tax is through excise, duty and vat. Income and corporate tax is dodged to easily, but, cars, petrol, cigarettes and vat from business they can grab much more effectively

[rubl]

... and VAT effects ALL! Iguess that's why the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance, Somchai Sujjapongse said within seven years as all those trillions the government is spending will need time to trickle down somehow to the common people.

[Thai at Heart]

... and VAT effects ALL! Iguess that's why the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance, Somchai Sujjapongse said within seven years as all those trillions the government is spending will need time to trickle down somehow to the common people.

Well, that very much depends where you do your shopping.

3. Exemptions

The following businesses are exempted from VAT::

3.1 Small entrepreneur whose annual turnover is less than 1.8 million baht;

3.2 Sales and import of unprocessed agricultural productsand related goods such as fertilizers, animal feeds, pesticides, etc.;

3.3 Sales and import of newspapers, magazines, and textbooks;

3.4 Certain basic services such as:

Edited April 1, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[notmyself]

Insane

[hellodolly]

Let's face it they have no choice but to back it. If they don't back it and there is no more rice bought at unsalable prices there will be no rice to store in their newly personally acquired storage warehouses.

Backing the plan was a no brainier for them.

[muttley]

... and VAT effects ALL! Iguess that's why the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance, Somchai Sujjapongse said within seven years as all those trillions the government is spending will need time to trickle down somehow to the common people.

OK everybody, calm down, VAT is frozen until October 2014.

Step away from any Capitals, Exclamation Marks or Emoticons - the crisis has been averted

Edited April 1, 2013 by muttley

[Locationthailand]

Of course the cabinet backed it. They do what they're told as they have not got a choice. Puppets don't think anyway.

[whybother]

It seems the government are struggling to sell their rice stocks. Vietnam have just underbid them on a sale of 186,000 tonnes to The Philippines. (source BP)

[hellodolly]

Interesting how they combined the rice scam with other kinds of projects that might actually improve Thailand. The idea of using government funds to buy rice at unrealistic inflated prices in order to "buy" votes is repulsive at best. The concept of the government buying it and then letting the rice just rot in warehouses is beyond comprehension.

Too bad the rice scam isn't an April Fools article instead of a pathetic joke on the country.

I wonder how many of those warehouses are owned by PTP members

[hellodolly]

Whi would have ever thought a drought,

Would be a big money saver to the taxpayers?

[OzMick]

Whi would have ever thought a drought,

Would be a big money saver to the taxpayers?

I'd say that every cloud has a silver lining, but there aren't many clouds when there's a drought.

I wonder what quality guarantees they are offering on their (possibly) rotten rice? Does the buyer get a choice of fresh or one year, 2 year, whatever?

You would have to assume the older rice would be cheaper, but is this depreciation being applied to the accounting of asset value?

[Robby nz]

It would seem that when the Govt gives a pension to those over 60 they also give out 1 bag of rice each.

The Mrs who plays on facebook tells me that there has been an article on there about the old people in Phitsanulok complaining bitterly about the rice they have been given.

It seems what they have been given is rotten and inedible, they say even the dogs wont eat it when cooked.

According to the packaging it is said to be 5% white rice, the rest the people are saying is all colors, black, brown, green etc.

Someone who does facebook might like to look it up and report back.