Rice-pledging scheme: No loans to pay for rice

[dominique355]

A couple of points worth noting here:

1. If the protests hadn't ultimately forced YL to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections, then the current government would instead be operating in the normal mode, and would have continued trying to finance the rice scam through various government funding methods -- something the current "caretaker" government absent a Parliament has been unable to do.

So really, it's the current protests, along with some help from Electrion Commission rulings, that effectively have stopped the current PT government from continuing to put the country even deeper in debt through this massive vote buying scheme, all the while ruining Thai rice's presence in international markets, but enriching themseles and their friends greatly.

2. From the farmers' end of things, I'm not sure what this all is likely to be from a political perspective. Right now, not getting paid, they're pissed -- and rightly so -- and perhaps will punish the PT to some extent in whatever elections are held. But if the rice money had been paid, already or in the near future somehow, I suspect alot of the farmers' grievances with the current government and PT would have melted away.

In the future, if the PT folks get back into power with a new election and have control of Parliament again, I suspect they'll be doing their best to put the rice gravy train back on track for the economic benefit of all those who profit from it.

This post was expected to come. Always blame the other, that's the Thai way, right?

The way the Yingluck government set up the rice pledging scheme with paying the farmers prices 20% and more above market price was the initial sin. Like this, the government became the owner of practically all rice harvested in Thailand without having a clue what to do with it. Failure and huge losses were the natural and obvious consequence for all to see, except PT.

Nobody, NOBODY forced Yingluck to disolve the house then, especially not before using her brain (in case she has one) and see that this is the time of the year when the farmers harvest their rice and want their money. But again, planing ahead is not their strongest point.

The rice pledging scheme as set up the PT is certainly not going to benefit the economy; in the contrary. It will ruin Thailand and in the long run destroy rice farming in Thailand. Exports have alreday dropped over 30% and will continue to do so, Thailand, once the No. 1 exporter of rice, is now No.3 and soon No. 4. Meanwhile millions of tons of rice will continue to rot and lose value (about 10 - 15% per year), losses and cost will pile up to over 1 trillion baht. A stange way to "benefit economy" indeed.

Edited January 31, 2014 by dominique355

[smedly]

somebody help me out here

First I am absolutely speechless after reading the OP

Either this government is completely off their mind or the Thai people of the North are just plain dumb

First the EC gets the blame for none payment of the farmers, now the banks are getting the blame for not giving out loans - anything but accept responsibility themselves again and again over and over they simply refuse to believe it is their fault or refuse to admit it - either way it's the exact reason that the people are on the streets

Then they threaten the banks if they don't give them the money trying bully and blackmail threats - next the redshirts will be at the homes of bank executives threatening them to comply or else

Is this government really as bad as I am seeing or have I got it all wrong, it is so bad it's almost unbelievable - there must be huge sums of money being distributed around this country to keep people on side or quiet

and the latest news that Thaksin has openly admitted he has got all his money back and more to the tune of $1bn and boasting about it

How on earth are they still in office and not in jail is beyond comprehension

[ratcatcher]

'Caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach said the state-owned banks' employees ... should concern themselves more about the farmers who have been not yet been paid ...' I thought that was the [caretaker] government's job.

'The government ... may consider not allowing state-run banks to join the rice-pledging project in the future," he said.' I'm sure the banks will be very upset to hear that.

"'The government ... may consider not allowing state-run banks to join the rice-pledging project in the future," he said.' I'm sure the banks will be very upset to hear that."

Thai bankers ought to be able to see this scam, for what it is. I imagine they will avoid them like the plague.

[fullcave]

With only one major party contesting the election this is really a non-issue.

[Mudcrab]

Most farmers cant read or dont buy newspapers which is a bonus to the PTP.

They might just get away with it.

Ive withdrawn all my money from Thai banks. First time ive ever done this.

absolute BS. farmers the world over know their input costs and their margin of return . In fact being price takers they know more acutely than most. Including rice farmers.

I'm sure you 5,000 baht withdrawal won't send the share market into a tail spin.

[metisdead]

This is an English language forum, if you're going to post snapshots of Thai language newspapers here to prove a point, the post will be removed.

Just another reminder that posts using derogatory nicknames or intentional misspelling of people’s names will be removed. If you don’t want your post to be removed, spell people’s names correctly.

[AleG]

Pheu Thai may pay the price at the ballot box for failure to pay farmers

Yet sadly their main rivals chose to boycott the election despite knowing they had a chance of winning. (Abhisit has been heard in every interview claiming they led at the polls.)

The reasons they did this are obvious and point to a complete rejection of democracy and the accountability that goes with it.

PT will win the election which is breath taking considering how much popular opinion is now against them. Shame on you "Democrats" - an oxymoron if ever I heard one, on a par with the "Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea"

The Democrats must have decided that reform before election was more important than them supposedly winning.

Sent from my phone ...

Also, I suppose, they have the experience of being utterly vilified for being the ones that had to clean up the aftermath of the previous economic debacle in 1997. I can't blame them if they don't want to be, again, the ones holding the hot potato

[darhut]

Quote

"If the government banks do not care about farmers, the group of farmers will withdraw their money from those banks and will embargo government banks' services, he said."

So the poor farmers with no money will withdraw that money they don't have from the bank and never put the money they don't have back into the bank?

Interesting.

Why would the Dems want to participate in this election? They might well win and why on earth would a captain want to take over a sinking ship. No one knows exactly what state of affairs the country is in.

[looping]

What's the collateral for the loan... Issan?

What an embarrassing mess, have they even presented accounts for this scheme?

[whybother]

With only one major party contesting the election this is really a non-issue.

Except that a new government can't be formed until enough MPs are elected, and that could be months away.

Sent from my phone ...

[looping]

Best line ever!

"However, the Finance Ministry reportedly threatened the banks with revoking their right to be the ministry's primary dealer if they didn't join the auction."

A culture of intimidation. They can't help themselves, even when begging.

[senoremac]

I'm confused, why do they have to borrow money for a commodity they borrowed in order to sell?

Why don't they sell the rice first and use that money to pay the farmers a percentage of the price they pledged?

Why are they borrowing money to sell rice they don't own, anyone else confused here?

[LomSak27]

_{The PT has just broken the backbone of their supporters and the economic backbone of the nation.}

well if the PDRC expat faithful think about this for a tough 5 seconds - who wont extend a loan? The EC. And they are hand in hand with the Dems.

Don't know where you live but up here that is who is being blamed. As these articles are coming via The Nation - the PDRC and Dems media division I doubt they have much validity, as usual ...

Now lets get the Blue and Green on, time for the Manning Face to rise from the sidelines !!!!!!!!

[whybother]

_{The PT has just broken the backbone of their supporters and the economic backbone of the nation.}

well if the PDRC expat faithful think about this for a tough 5 seconds - who wont extend a loan? The EC. And they are hand in hand with the Dems.

Don't know where you live but up here that is who is being blamed. As these articles are coming via The Nation - the PDRC and Dems media division I doubt they have much validity, as usual ...

Now lets get the Blue and Green on, time for the Manning Face to rise from the sidelines !!!!!!!!

And why weren't the government paying in October when the payments were due, and before the EC was involved?

[SjaakNL2013]

I read every time about that the rice farmers are the 'backbone of the nation'. Maybe if you see them as election votes but economical they they are a mill stone an the legs from every government.

I think if there will come an accountant investigation that the rice farmers netto have value for the Thai economy.

[AleG]

It is hard to feel sympathy for the fools who voted for PT based purely on ridiculous populist policies, then get upset when they fail to deliver. Also if they had shown a hint of fiscal responsibility and saved some of that extra 40% they got paid for their crop, they wouldn't be in the spot they are in right now. Sadly the government shows a similar complete lack of fiscal responsibility and forward planning hnce the mess they are in now. The tax payer has suffered enough at the hands of these PT criminals, time for a change !

The thing is that this scheme is not only affecting rice farmers that voted for PTP, all farmers are affected, whether by increases in production costs driven by the demand from the scheme or access to water that is being diverted in huge quantities to the rice fields. As of now the threat of a drought later this year is materializing as the rice crop is expected to be the biggest ever, I suppose in a last minute attempt to cash in before the scheme collapses... oops, too late but the water is gone none the less.

Worst of all must be the rice farmers too poor to participate on the scheme (a group thoroughly ignored by those who attempt to defend this travesty), they get none of the benefits yet they have to face all the extra costs, the higher fertilizer, pesticides, seed and renting costs.

So, yes, no sympathy to those who put the crooks in charge, but there is a very significant amount of collateral damage to other people that were not responsible for that.

[Old Man River]

A couple of points worth noting here:

1. If the protests hadn't ultimately forced YL to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections, then the current government would instead be operating in the normal mode, and would have continued trying to finance the rice scam through various government funding methods -- something the current "caretaker" government absent a Parliament has been unable to do.

So really, it's the current protests, along with some help from Electrion Commission rulings, that effectively have stopped the current PT government from continuing to put the country even deeper in debt through this massive vote buying scheme, all the while ruining Thai rice's presence in international markets, but enriching themseles and their friends greatly.

2. From the farmers' end of things, I'm not sure what this all is likely to be from a political perspective. Right now, not getting paid, they're pissed -- and rightly so -- and perhaps will punish the PT to some extent in whatever elections are held. But if the rice money had been paid, already or in the near future somehow, I suspect alot of the farmers' grievances with the current government and PT would have melted away.

In the future, if the PT folks get back into power with a new election and have control of Parliament again, I suspect they'll be doing their best to put the rice gravy train back on track for the economic benefit of all those who profit from it.

This post was expected to come. Always blame the other, that's the Thai way, right?

The way the Yingluck government set up the rice pledging scheme with paying the farmers prices 20% and more above market price was the initial sin. Like this, the government became the owner of practically all rice harvested in Thailand without having a clue what to do with it. Failure and huge losses were the natural and obvious consequence for all to see, except PT.

Nobody, NOBODY forced Yingluck to disolve the house then, especially not before using her brain (in case she has one) and see that this is the time of the year when the farmers harvest their rice and want their money. But again, planing ahead is not their strongest point.

The rice pledging scheme as set up the PT is certainly not going to benefit the economy; in the contrary. It will ruin Thailand and in the long run destroy rice farming in Thailand. Exports have alreday dropped over 30% and will continue to do so, Thailand, once the No. 1 exporter of rice, is now No.3 and soon No. 4. Meanwhile millions of tons of rice will continue to rot and lose value (about 10 - 15% per year), losses and cost will pile up to over 1 trillion baht. A stange way to "benefit economy" indeed.

Both of you seem to have a good idea about this YL fiasco(maybe designed by Mr. Dubai, but no proof of this).

Therefore, I am attaching some articles that you might find interesting:

http://tdri.or.th/en/tdri-insight/experts-urge-changes-in-rice-scheme-2/

http://tdri.or.th/en/tdri-insight/government-shrugs-off-rice-programme-concern

http://tdri.or.th/en/tdri-insight/seeking-a-grain-of-truth/

I don't expect many on TV to understand this, but you guys will. The alleged cash corruption (separate from unrealized losses for the country) may have come from the first year's sales, when two companies apparently not well known in the industry were given these sales contracts. This was in the initial year before much loss of moisture and deterioration occurred. Enough said.

Now, we are down the road where deterioration has likely occurred and sales of the rice will reflect large losses if sold at market. Some estimate the losses to Thailand to be in excess of THB 400 billion. In addition, now we hear that China may have ripped up a government to government contract. In my humble opinion, these type of commodity for services rendered contracts are more beneficial as the services rendered can be set at any price, so there is no mark to market on commodity sales.

Separate, from the above, In my Humble Opinion, the monies owed by the PTP may be an incentive for farmers to continue to vote for the PTP, as farmers should want to keep in power those that owe them money so they can get paid.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand