Cumulative Losses From Thaksin Govts' Farm Schemes Touch Almost Bt400 Billion

[rubl]

So, probably THB 260 billion loss on a few harvest seasons having pledged THB 660 billion or so. That's only the estimated loss of proceedings, storage costs, a bit here, a bit there.

As some CM gentlemen have suggested, we will only know the total losses after we've sold the rice. To suggest we wait for it is a good of ignoring an issue.
BTW we still have rice from 2005 to 2009 in stock. So probably real soon, any day now we'll have insight in ... ...

[Mudcrab]

These are a great set of numbers and congratulations must go out to all the morons in the PTP, you could have rounded off the amount at say Bt500million or lets get adventurous and make it Bt 1 Billion actually the sky's the limits where you are concerned and all tailor made for the vote buying gullible peasants that so blindly follow your blundering policies, your immature child like approach to government for all Thailander's is nothing short of disgusting, along with corruption in your administration one wonders what the true figure should be, all this money wasted on grand standing could have been used for more useful purposes, Education, Health, infrastructure , need I say more

I think there is something missing in this debate, particularly in reference to the gullible peasants you refer to.

Farmers all over the world are often referred to as hicks, hayseeds, bumpkins...(choose you home countries referenced term) by the city dwellers. But I can assure you that every farmer I have ever met (again chose the country of your choice) I have ever met is switched on to the economics of their particular vocation.

I include cane and cattle farmers in Australia, the wheat farmers in the US and rice farmers in Thailand.They are, generally speaking, some of the best (people and) businessmen I have ever met - they have to be to survive. If you want to knock and denigrate the policy makers...you have my full support...but lay off the people, who like most of us, are just trying to survive in this world.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Mudcrab

[Mosha]

It's not small change by any means but the numbers are in THB and not USD so don't get carried away. And as a percentage of GDP the actual losses are small, just before somebody (you know who) chirps in that the rice scheme will bankrupt the country..

Somewhere in the vicinity of 10+ billion USD in losses. Don't get carried away?

>Who cares about GDP? It's massive. To think how it could have been spent.

So how was it spent, much of it was spent by various Thaksin governements to subsidise the rural poor.

Depends where the rural poor are though. Don't see any improvement in the sticks down here.

[phantomfiddler]

None of this chat about money really matters, especially to the poor. They are happy playing games on their tablet computers. Sad, innit !

[waza]

400 billion baht or 20% of the annual budget lost on the agricultural scams alone, plus another 350 billion baht for the flood scam and Bt85 billion for the first car scam. Then add the cost of the other PTP populist scams and we have a outrageous amount of corrupt losses in just 2 years of this administration. That's around half of the yearly budget on loss making machinations, this administration is haemorrhaging money and brings total government debt to over 2 trillion baht. But it doesn't end there, this rice scam is slated for another year and this administration wants to borrow another 2.2 trillion baht for back of the envelope scams. Can Thailand afford another 2 years of the Thaksin/ Yingluck government?

How much does Thailand spend on government in comparison to other countries? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending

I dont know bit it is about as relevant as, How much does your wife spend on shopping compared to ther wives?

Edited June 7, 2013 by waza

[annabel]

It's not small change by any means but the numbers are in THB and not USD so don't get carried away. And as a percentage of GDP the actual losses are small, just before somebody (you know who) chirps in that the rice scheme will bankrupt the country..

Somewhere in the vicinity of 10+ billion USD in losses. Don't get carried away?

Not to trivialise the loss but In the context of GDP it's a small number, and, the losses being talked about represent the losses from ALL agricultural schemes under various Thaksin governments, not just the losses from the rice scheme that's in the headlines currently.

Ahhh...OK. Got it. It's all those other schemes as well that that have added up to this small loss (in terms of GDP). That's OK then. All good.....nothing to see here people....move on.

Chiang Mai should become a propaganda spokesman for the Thaksin government.

Become...?? I thought he already was ??

[StefanBBK]

It's not small change by any means but the numbers are in THB and not USD so don't get carried away. And as a percentage of GDP the actual losses are small, just before somebody (you know who) chirps in that the rice scheme will bankrupt the country..

It is more accurate to look at the costs as a % of government revenues, rather than GDP. Viewed in this light the B 400 bn (cumulative loss) would equal 13%, These are huge, and unsustainable numbers, and have rightly got the attention of the rating agencies. Yingluk needs to stop this madness before it ruins the country, or she can continue to fiddle while Rome burns.

You are completely right, even though I believe revenues are about 2,500 bn, which makes 400 bn closer to 16%. even worst.

[HerbalEd]

Forget about the initial money lost ... as if that doesn't matter. In the longer run the loss caused by this hair-brained scheme is much, much higher. Thailand has gone from the number one rice exporter in the world to number three. And now the government is going to dump millions of tons of degraded, low quality rice onto the world market ... which will possible ruin the excellent reputation of high quality Thai rice.

The real ass kicker is that the poor farmers who are totally getting screwed by all this, love Taksin and his little sister for doing it to them.

[rubl]

^67 StefanBBK

Not sure about current or previous period, but on 2013-06-02 we had National Budget passed through first reading in parliament as
"Governments 2.525-trillion-baht budget bill", "projected net income of 2.275 trillion baht in the 2014 fiscal year"
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/643667-thailand-live-sunday-2-jun-2013/page-2#entry6465833

[waza]

^67 StefanBBK

Not sure about current or previous period, but on 2013-06-02 we had National Budget passed through first reading in parliament as

"Governments 2.525-trillion-baht budget bill", "projected net income of 2.275 trillion baht in the 2014 fiscal year"

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/643667-thailand-live-sunday-2-jun-2013/page-2#entry6465833

May 29, 2013, at 0930hrs, at the Parliament, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra delivered a budget presentation of the fiscal year 2014 to the members of parliament as follows:

The draft Expenditure Budget Act for Fiscal Year B.E. 2557 proposed to the honorable members of the House for the amount of 2,525,000 million Baht has been compiled under the deficit budget policy with the expected net revenue of 2,275,000 million Baht, and borrowing for the balance of deficit budget at the amount of 250,000 million Baht. http://www.4-traders.com/news/Royal-Thai-Government-PM-s-budget-presentation-FY-2014-in-the-parliament--16917741/

Edited June 7, 2013 by waza

[vijer]

Oh to be a middle man in Thailand!

[Thai at Heart]

400 billion baht or 20% of the annual budget lost on the agricultural scams alone, plus another 350 billion baht for the flood scam and Bt85 billion for the first car scam. Then add the cost of the other PTP populist scams and we have a outrageous amount of corrupt losses in just 2 years of this administration. That's around half of the yearly budget on loss making machinations, this administration is haemorrhaging money and brings total government debt to over 2 trillion baht. But it doesn't end there, this rice scam is slated for another year and this administration wants to borrow another 2.2 trillion baht for back of the envelope scams. Can Thailand afford another 2 years of the Thaksin/ Yingluck government?

How much does Thailand spend on government in comparison to other countries? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending

I dont know bit it is about as relevant as, How much does your wife spend on shopping compared to ther wives?

A better comparison would be how much does Thailand borrow to fund its government every year.

[Thai at Heart]

Forget about the initial money lost ... as if that doesn't matter. In the longer run the loss caused by this hair-brained scheme is much, much higher. Thailand has gone from the number one rice exporter in the world to number three. And now the government is going to dump millions of tons of degraded, low quality rice onto the world market ... which will possible ruin the excellent reputation of high quality Thai rice.

The real ass kicker is that the poor farmers who are totally getting screwed by all this, love Taksin and his little sister for doing it to them.

If they don't flog the rice, it's going to need another cash injection to keep it running.

[waza]

400 billion baht or 20% of the annual budget lost on the agricultural scams alone, plus another 350 billion baht for the flood scam and Bt85 billion for the first car scam. Then add the cost of the other PTP populist scams and we have a outrageous amount of corrupt losses in just 2 years of this administration. That's around half of the yearly budget on loss making machinations, this administration is haemorrhaging money and brings total government debt to over 2 trillion baht. But it doesn't end there, this rice scam is slated for another year and this administration wants to borrow another 2.2 trillion baht for back of the envelope scams. Can Thailand afford another 2 years of the Thaksin/ Yingluck government?

How much does Thailand spend on government in comparison to other countries? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending

I dont know bit it is about as relevant as, How much does your wife spend on shopping compared to ther wives?

A better comparison would be how much does Thailand borrow to fund its government every year.

I believe its 400 billion baht for the 2014 budget on the book. I think the rice scams 600 billion is an off budget loans.