Thai Commerce Ministry seeks ways to cut rice stockpiles

[webfact]

RICE
Ministry seeks ways to cut rice stockpiles
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Commerce Ministry was able to sell only 30,000 tonnes of rice to two traders at this year's third auction, so it may look for a new strategy to reduce its stockpiles to earn more returns for the Finance Ministry this year.

Pranee Siriphand, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said that bidding for 201,000 tonnes of rice opened on Monday but only 30,000 tonnes of 5-per-cent white rice was sold to two exporters, Asia Golden Rice and Chaiyaporn.

The department did not disclose the agreed price, but said it was satisfactory to both the government and the buyers. Other lots of rice could not been sold because the bids were much lower than the market price.

Because of the small number of bidders, Pranee said the department tomorrow would propose some adjustments to the subcommittee overseeing the release of rice from ministry stockpiles.

The ministry needs to find some new methods to ensure that the government will earn more money to pay back to the Finance Ministry, which is funding the pledging programme, this year, she said. The government has been able to generate about Bt100 million from two rice auctions this year. The Commerce Ministry was able to pay Bt3.8 billion to the Finance Ministry this month. To date, it has returned about Bt150 billion.

A senior Commerce Ministry official said it should be able to pay a total of Bt200 billion to Finance this year. This includes a payment from Iran, which purchased 250,000 tonnes of rice under a government-to-government contract. Moreover, Indonesia is expected to purchase not less than 300,000 tonnes of rice under a G2G contract soon.

About 15 million tonnes of rice remain in the government's stockpiles.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry plans to allocate 200,000 tonnes of white rice for small packs sold directly to consumers to help relieve the cost of living.

The plan will be proposed tomorrow to the government's subcommittee overseeing the release of rice stocks.

Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikuar said the rice should be sold at Bt85-Bt89 per 5-kilogram pack.

The ministry will closely monitor goods prices and will not allow increases without good reason.


-- The Nation 2013-08-21

[Ricardo]

"the bids were much lower than the market price"

Really ? Or were the bids merely below the price paid by the government, so that a sale would have meant incurring a loss, had the bids been accepted ?

[jaidam]

Sorry but I don't believe any economist in the world could have foreseen that malevolently trying to take control of world grain prices by withholding all Thai rice could have led to a stockpile of rotting rice. I wish them all the best in their endeavors to cut this stockpile. If they are really stuck there is a new economic theory they might want to check out. I think they are calling it "market forces" something to do with supply and demand in a free market.

[chooka]

Are these bogus G2G contracts like the Chinese one that never happened?

Just use it for livestock feed.

[rametindallas]

First, STOP STOCKPILING RICE!!!!!!!!

Second, Clearly separate any rice that is one year or older and spray it with food dye so no one can sell it as new. This may restore trust in the market that new crop rice is actually new crop rice.

Third, Sell the fresh rice at competitive prices

Fourth, turn the old rice into ethanol and/or animal feedstock.

Fifth, help the rice farmers to transition to other crops. 40% of the land rice is grown on is not suitable for growing rice. Plant crops that are suitable for the soil and weather conditions. Forget about Thailand ever becoming a World leader in rice exports. For half he money being spent on the rice scheme, the government could modernize Thai farmers and end their manual labor, never-ending poverty. Own up to the losses.

Edited August 20, 2013 by rametindallas

[Chittychangchang]

I find it hard to believe that Thailand has stockpiles the amount Thais eat!

CCC

[Chao Lao Beach]

About 15 million tonnes of rice remain in the government's stockpiles.

was able to sell only 30,000 tonnes of rice to two traders at this year's third auction

[LuckyLew]

Note to self ... do not buy or eat Asia Golden Rice and Chaiyaporn.

[Robby nz]

From yesterdays news

Traders not keen to bid in govt rice auctions

The ministry will today disclose the proposed prices............................

But today they will not disclose the prices.

They must have been embarrassingly low.

This includes a payment from Iran, which purchased 250,000 tonnes of rice under a government-to-government contract.

I thought Thaksin said Iran was no longer going to buy Thai rice.

Possibly they made that decision after seeing the 250K tons.

[Ricardo]

About 15 million tonnes of rice remain in the government's stockpiles.

was able to sell only 30,000 tonnes of rice to two traders at this year's third auction

The ministry could have sold more, but they just didn't like the price offered, whatever it was (it's a matter of National Security you understand !), so they didn't sell it after all.

How nice to be able to pick-and-choose like that, can only be because it's OPM (Other Peoples' Money), that they're managing !

Perhaps it might help, if the ministry were to announce publicly the minimum-price acceptable, rather than just withdraw the stock from the sale ?

Or would that trigger 'loss-of-face', when the taxpayers find out what losses the government will accept, on their behalf ?

Meanwhile the stocks of old-rice linger-on, and the traders buy their new-crop rice direct in the open-market, bypassing the system.

[NongKhaiKid]

They are trying to shut the stable door ... !

The stockpiles should never have been allowed to accumulate in the first place but became an inevitability of such an ill conceived scheme and the government has well and truly painted themselves into yet another corner.

[edwinchester]

From yesterdays news

 

Traders not keen to bid in govt rice auctions

 

The ministry will today disclose the proposed prices............................

 

 

But today they will not disclose the prices.

 

They must have been embarrassingly low.

 

 

 

This includes a payment from Iran, which purchased 250,000 tonnes of rice under a government-to-government contract.

 

I thought Thaksin said Iran was no longer going to buy Thai rice.

 

Possibly they made that decision after seeing the 250K tons.

It was Iraq that supposedly said they were suspending imports of Thai rice for three years.

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

[ramrod711]

Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikuar said the rice should be sold at Bt85-Bt89 per 5-kilogram pack.

Well, i'm not sure if that's a good plan or not, but you must admit it's better than burning all the city halls in Thailand.

[dcutman]

Full steam ahead!

[MaxLee]

Full steam ahead!

RICEBERG full speed ahead

[Chittychangchang]

EAT THEM!!!

[Thait Spot]

About 15 million tonnes of rice remain in the government's stockpiles.

was able to sell only 30,000 tonnes of rice to two traders at this year's third auction

At that rate they will have sold the 2012 harvest by 2052 and will have 600 million tonnes left to sell.

[Neilly]

Thai Commerce Ministry seeks ways to cut rice stockpiles

Here, let me help you with that heading...

Thai Commerce Ministry seeks ways to cut rice stockpiles save face

That's better.....

Edited August 21, 2013 by Neilly

[LawrenceChee]

I suggested to my missus yesterday when I asked her about the rice ....said it would be nice if the King comes out and say for rice security ...it would be good for each household to keep at least 4 bags of 10kg rice ...that would reduce the stockpile significantly

Or the major restaurant chains like Fuji or MK could do a rice dish dedicated to the HM King upcoming birthday

[pedro01]

Did I read that right? The Thai govt is going to package the rice and undercut domestic retail rice sellers? Well, I guess that group haven't been alienated yet!

[moe666]

What, no red shirt supports here talking up the pledging scheme, come on GK I am sure you have something to say.

[EyesWideOpen]

If this rotting rice cannot be sold on the international market, then it is going to be fobbed off on the domestic

market.... :-( Think I am going to start buying Vietnamese or Indian rice.

[MaxLee]

EAT THEM!!!

Hire more pigs, rats and vermin

[chooka]

EAT THEM!!!

Hire more pigs, rats and vermin

Isn't the government top heavy already?

[TackyToo]

Let Yingluck take her 4 new planes and drown Tajikistan and Mongolia etc. in rotten rice!

[webfact]

Only 30,000 tons of rice sold in 3rd auction to vacate government stockpile of pledged grain

BANGKOK, 21 Aug 2013 (NNT) – The Commerce Ministry will review its auction policies after the third round of pledged rice auction attracted only 7 bidders, only 2 of which were qualified and only 30,000 tons out of the 210,000 tons of pledged rice were sold.

Foreign Trade Department Director General Pranee Siripan revealed that the 30,000 tons of rice auctioned out were white rice with 5% water content for exporting. She said that the Ministry was unable to sell other kinds of rice including jasmine and sticky rice, as prices offered by the bidders were all below the median price.

She added that the prices for the 5% white rice were only slightly higher than that in the previous auction. The result of the auction will be reported to Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan who would then authorize the deal.

Ms. Pranee said that a meeting has been scheduled for Friday with Minister Niwatthamrong presiding over, to review the current auction policies and find other measures to ensure that the remaining pledged rice in government warehouses will be released as planned.

The Director General also disclosed that her department is holding G2G talks with Iraq and other nations in order to sell off the pledged rice in stocks. She expressed confidence that the move would speed up rice sale and enable the government to achieve its goal of returning the fund borrowed from the Finance Ministry as planned.


-- NNT 2013-08-21

[RickeyParkany]

...so hard to sell food-stuff sitting around warehouse floors steeping in pesticides for 3 years or more...a la Indian tragedy of late... ;-} rap.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Well it would be cheaper to store it till next election and give "gifts" of 20kg bags of rice than baht to the North East.

[monkeycountry]

Previously when my Thai girlfriend bought rice, she just pulled the usual brand from one of the piles at Tesco without even looking at it. Now, while she still buys Thai rice, I notice she stands and looks closely, not at the price, but at the rice inside several different transparent bags before she finally picks one.

[belg]

riceberg, oilberg, mercuryberg, tuktukberg, jetskiberg

hub of berg