Thailand cuts rice-buying subsidy after big losses

[notmyself]

fumigation against dampness

You can fumigate against dampness?

[rubl]

The last figures I had on 2011/2012 was 21.7m tonnes with THB 59 billion sold and 156 billion left in stock. No indication on volume. First harvest 2012/2013 was 9.9m tonnes in preliminary figures. With exports last year 6m tonnes (?) and this year hopefully between 6 and 8m tonnes, Thai people really need to start eating their way through the rice mountain

[ratcatcher]

fumigation against dampness

You can fumigate against dampness?

You really don't want to know what these guys are prepared to do to that rice in order to keep losses to a minimum. Anything is possible now.

I like this quote:

"Watthana Rattanawong said the rice in stock has very little chance of rotting if it has been treated under a standardized procedure"

<deleted> does that mean?

Weevil Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult.

ANNE RICE, Interview with the Vampire

[rubl]

From the OP: "This year Thailand is forecast to buy 22 million tons of the grain at a cost of up to 500 billion baht, a cabinet statement said."

There was a mention of 9.9m tonnes for the first season of 2012/2013 with (very) preliminary cost of 155 billion. That would mean possibly a further 345 billion needed for the second harvest with 11.9m tonnes.

With THB 352 spent on 2011/2012, 500 2012/2013 that exceeds the 500 billion non-revolving fund by 352 billion only. Luckily the BAAC is state owned.

[GentlemanJim]

IMPORTANT

I am unsure where to put this info so have opted for the current rice thread. We just a had a call from a close family friend who works in the food industry. He has just said that whatever you do, do not buy any cheap Thai white rice. There will be lots coming on sale soon at low prices. The brand/packaging belongs to one of the biggest food brands in Thailand and it will be sold in supermarkets that I am not willing to name either. You are clever enough to know and work it out when you see it. We are told on 100% reliable info that they are taking a lot of the old rice and washing it in formalin to make it look white again. Eat at your peril, you have been warned.

That's the sort of thing that you see "shared" on Facebook.

The phone call was taken in my house this afternoon and my wife is very concerned that I even mentioned it on here because of traceability issues. Take it or leave it, it is first hand info. Munch away on whatever you like it's not my stomach. Bon appetite .

Oh, and we haven't put it on FB

[pedro01]

BANGKOK, June 20 - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra confirmed today the government will proceed with its rice pledging scheme but said the pledge price will be flexibly related to that of the world market.

Cool - let's just hope nobody dumps 20M tonnes of rice on the market causing the price to drop through the floor!

[mikemac]

Thailand - the world's biggest exporter and importer of rice !

This may well be the straw (scam) that broke the camel's (Shinawatra's) back.

Of all the lame brained disasters the Duke of Dubai and his wacko family have been credited with, this must be the cherry on top of the cream. Can anyone think of a better one ?

[GentlemanJim]

BANGKOK, June 20 - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra confirmed today the government will proceed with its rice pledging scheme but said the pledge price will be flexibly related to that of the world market.

Cool - let's just hope nobody dumps 20M tonnes of rice on the market causing the price to drop through the floor!

could be a good time to short rice !

[tingtongfarang]

IMPORTANT

I am unsure where to put this info so have opted for the current rice thread. We just a had a call from a close family friend who works in the food industry. He has just said that whatever you do, do not buy any cheap Thai white rice. There will be lots coming on sale soon at low prices. The brand/packaging belongs to one of the biggest food brands in Thailand and it will be sold in supermarkets that I am not willing to name either. You are clever enough to know and work it out when you see it. We are told on 100% reliable info that they are taking a lot of the old rice and washing it in formalin to make it look white again. Eat at your peril, you have been warned.

I,m guessing this includes the rice use by street food stalls,

On a travel last week friends in hong kong already told they were avoiding thai rice because of the same fears.

[kiddeemak]

thanks for posting re:formalin

[MaxLee]

"Dear rice farmers of Thailand, you have been officially ripped off thanks to our populist policies. Thank you for your money, screw you to hell, you worthless scum.

If you excuse me, I'm going to prepare to another shopping trip to the Maledives, bye bye..."

Prepare for the rice farmer revolution into the heart of Bangkok..,

[Skywalker69]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

[slapout]

You have a farm group asking that the dockage point for moisture contnet of rice be raised from 15 to 25%, so the farmers get more of the 12,000 or 20,000 baht/ton allowance.

Rice exporting group indicating that fumigation could lower the mositure content.

it would seem no one in the private nor government sector know how much rice is in storage, condition of storage, condition of rice, nor age of said grain, but seem to think it is at 1500 different locations.

The one good thing I can see is that there are fewer tons of rice involved than there are baht, so it should not take 18 months and counting to come up with an accurate figure. Wonder who will be tasked with this chore,? The TAT seems to be a staunch defender of the present, gang of thugs, they work with similar numbers, put out "No affect" notices quite frequently, like ever growing numbers,so there we have it, good to go.

[notmyself]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

The density of the types of stone used in the construction of the great pyramid of Giza is going to be far higher than that of rice.

[Skywalker69]

fumigation against dampness

You can fumigate against dampness?

You really don't want to know what these guys are prepared to do to that rice in order to keep losses to a minimum. Anything is possible now.

I like this quote:

"Watthana Rattanawong said the rice in stock has very little chance of rotting if it has been treated under a standardized procedure"

<deleted> does that mean?

Weevil Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult.

ANNE RICE, Interview with the Vampire

"Watthana Rattanawong said the rice in stock has very little chance of rotting if it has been treated under a standardized procedure"

If you eat it you might start to glow?

[Thai at Heart]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

That's denser than rice don't forget.

Probably make twice that many.

[mrtoad]

Hopefully the farmers will start to understand that Thaksin and his puppets never had any interest in them anyway. I'm optimistic that the conmen have finally been found out.

[rubl]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

That's denser than rice don't forget.

Probably make twice that many.

With 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 having about 44m tonnes pledged and 'not so much' sold at least four times the Cheops pyramid might be a guestimate on the low side. Mind you, moulded rice might have a lower density

[Skywalker69]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

That's denser than rice don't forget.

Probably make twice that many.

With 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 having about 44m tonnes pledged and 'not so much' sold at least four times the Cheops pyramid might be a guestimate on the low side. Mind you, moulded rice might have a lower density

Anyway thats a hell lot of rice, and I am sure a hell of a smell on the contryside.

[Tatsujin]

Good to see the Google ads are appropriate to the topic in hand . . . rice milling machines for sale and other similar ads lol

[apetley]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

Limestone weighs approximately five times times more than rice so by volume there are 20 pyramids hidden somewhere.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[EyesWideOpen]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

Limestone weighs approximately five times times more than rice so by volume there are 20 pyramids hidden somewhere.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That seems like a whole lot of rice to store/hide.... Wonder if it exists at this point. Does anybody actually know where it is ?

My first thought after seeing this headline is that the government finally came to their senses..too late.

[notmyself]

That seems like a whole lot of rice to store/hide.... Wonder if it exists at this point. Does anybody actually know where it is ?

Dotted around all over the place in northern Thailand I guess. I have also wondered how much of it actually exists more and more as time passes. Figures vary by the millions of tonnes.... I can't see how they can be unsure where exactly a million tonnes (for example) of rice is. You can lose mislay your keys, or mislay you motorbike and you can even mislay you car but a million tonnes of rice is not going to be lost in a backstreet or in the sofa. If nothing else, nothing else at all, someone is getting paid to store it so they must know. Follow the money.

[Gulfsailor]

I guess it's time to update my profile picture from last year, when 'only' 14 million tons of rice was in storage.

[kotsak]

From WSJ: Thailand's Ruinous Rice Subsidy

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577904578557050631839748.html

[PaullyW]

From WSJ: Thailand's Ruinous Rice Subsidy

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577904578557050631839748.html

"On Wednesday Thailand agreed to cut the price it pays for farmers' rice crops by 20%, in what may be the first step in unwinding a disastrous rice subsidy program. This retreat won't undo the fiscal damage already done by the two-year-old scheme, which saw the government buy local rice harvests for as much as 50% above market rates and then fail to engineer a similar price hike globally. But it does provide a good lesson in the dangers of meddling with markets."

Taken from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577904578557050631839748.html

[Robby nz]

Responding to criticism of her rice program's losses, Ms. Yingluck said this week that what really matters is how her scheme has improved farmers' livelihoods. In reality, the rice subsidy has only created dependence on unsustainable handouts

The last sentence says it all

The expectation now is for the handouts to continue

Those who come from welfare state countries will recognize that one.

[kurnell]

Hopefully the farmers will start to understand that Thaksin and his puppets never had any interest in them anyway. I'm optimistic that the conmen have finally been found out.

Never gonna happen. Throw a bit more money their way for another scheme with will make Yingluck and her cronies even richer and they will soon forget the rice pledge debacle.

[AleG]

Such negativity...

Look at the bright side, wouldn't you? Those storing the ever increasing mountains of rice will still be getting paid in full every month.

[Thai at Heart]

The big pyramid in Giza is 143 m high and the base is 50,000 sq.m and it weighs 6 milj ton, this will mean that Thailand has almost 4 Giza pyramids of rice in stock....mindblowing.

Limestone weighs approximately five times times more than rice so by volume there are 20 pyramids hidden somewhere.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That seems like a whole lot of rice to store/hide.... Wonder if it exists at this point. Does anybody actually know where it is ?

My first thought after seeing this headline is that the government finally came to their senses..too late.

That's what I have been wondering all along. They have never stored this much volume, so did they really manage to build this many reasonable quality warehouses that fast? Every square inch of dry warehouse building in the country must be full. When they mentioned looking at Don Muang, I think they said they could get a couple of hundred thousand tonns in it. This is 20mn+ tonnes.

It is a gargantuan volume to store of anything.