Thai government likely to lose heavily from auction of spoilt rice

[webfact]

Government likely to lose heavily from auction of spoilt rice



BANGKOK: -- The committee tasked with releasing old rice bought under the Yingluck government’s rice pledging scheme will soon meet to consider the bidding prices offered by 13 qualified bidders whether the 37,400 tonnes of spoilt rice should be sold or not.

The 13 bidders on Tuesday placed bids offering prices ranging from n 5,020-5,419.98 baht per tonne for the 37,400 tonnes of spoilt rice.

Foreign Trade Department chief Mrs Duangporn Rodpayat said that, besides the bidding prices, the committee would also consider the capabilities of the bidders to produce ethanol from the spoilt rice and the prices of other farm products used to produce ethanol.

The committee will submit its recommendation to the National Rice Policy and Management Committee for consideration.

A Commerce Ministry source pointed out that if the spoilt rice lot was to be sold at the maximum bidding price of 5,419.98 baht per tonne the government would lose 18,600 baht per tonne from the cost price of 24,000 baht per tonne of milled rice.

But if the rice lot in question is to be sold as 5 percent rice whose market price now rangers from 11,000-12,000 baht per tonne the government would sustain a loss of 5,000-6,000 baht per tonne.

As to when a new auction of spoilt rice is to be staged, commerce permanent secretary Ms Chutima Bunyaprapat said the ministry would

have to wait for the outcome of the current auction. But she insisted that the rice in stockpiles would have to be released into the market in order to ease the government’s burden on storage cost.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/government-likely-to-lose-heavily-from-auction-of-spoilt-rice


-- Thai PBS 2015-12-02

[Somtamnication]

Well no sh..t Sherlock! And how is this rotten rice used?

[cooked]

Well no sh..t Sherlock! And how is this rotten rice used?

That's a good question. Maybe if you read the article again you might find an answer Dr. Watson

[ezzra]

So let me understand something here, the Thai government were hoping to make a killing selling rotten

rice? if this is the case, that I have a mountain of garbage up country with lot's of rotten stuff in it that I'd love to sell to someone....

[Rocceao]

For what ever the reason, they have a lot of rice that is spoilt and needs to be sold off asap, regardless what its used for making Ethanol/Lao Khao or throwing around a wedding, sell it , beheve like adults and take the loss. no point on crying over spoilt milk, or in this case spoilt rice.

However, learn from this, move on and moving forward, put inplace measures to ensure that next seasons crop yield is processed and stored in programed and functional manner, so that it wont spoil and can be sold for maximum profit, so everyone can profit from the crop.

On a lighter note apparanlty they can use the spoilt rice to rejuvinate spoilt bannanas http://nextshark.com/blow-dryer-rotten-banana-youtube-hack/

Thanks for taking the time to read my post

Edited December 1, 2015 by Rocceao

[Seastallion]

"But if the rice lot in question is to be sold as 5 percent rice whose market price now rangers from 11,000-12,000 baht per tonne the government would sustain a loss of 5,000-6,000 baht per tonne."

"the cost price of 24,000 baht per tonne of milled rice"

Let me understand this. If they mix @ 5:95 bad with good, and that reduces the price of the good by 12000, they think they will lose less money because 12000 baht selling price (of the 5% mixed rice) is higher than 5 400 baht?

[tbthailand]

37,000 tons out of 17 million tons = 2% spoilage...

[fakename]

Just hold onto the rice, it only gets better with age, or was it wine, that gets better!

[worgeordie]

Should be sold or not !, why do they need to ask that question,

the alternative is to keep it,until it rots away to nothing,WHILE

still paying storage charges every month,its a no brainier,BUT

this been Thailand,they might just keep it.

regards Worgeordie

[halloween]

37,000 tons out of 17 million tons = 2% spoilage...

Correct, the spoilage rate isn't high for rice stored for years. The question is, why was rice that couldn't be sold bought at far more than its worth, leading to a loss (here alone) of some B650,000,000?

Of course, the question is rhetorical. It was needed to prop up a corrupt and inept government who had used the scheme to buy votes - cancelling it could have caused far more dissent than already being expressed.

[lucky11]

So let me understand something here, the Thai government were hoping to make a killing selling rotten

rice? if this is the case, that I have a mountain of garbage up country with lot's of rotten stuff in it that I'd love to sell to someone....

I think that they call it 'damage limitation' from a situation caused by a crooked, incompetent government of cheats and lying dimwits!!

[djayz]

Just sell it and be done with it. Storing it won't improve the quality of the rice and it's costing them to keep it in storage.

Sell it. Lot, stock and barrel. Realise the loss and impliment procedures to prevent something like this happening again.

[waldroj]

Just like the fleet of old aircraft that THAI Airways is holding on to until they get the right price.

Could solve both problems by dumping the old planes at the tip, and using the spoilt rice as land fill to cover them.

[IMA_FARANG]

I expect little sister (Ms. Y) will want to buy a couple of tons, if not as a souvenier at least.

Edited December 2, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[tomacht8]

What a disaster. Gambling with tax payers money. Money burned, no benefit for the society.

[IMA_FARANG]

Well no sh..t Sherlock! And how is this rotten rice used?

--------------------------------

As it says in the article....probably turned into Ethanol for fuel.

[fred Kubasa]

The "Government" loses nothing out of their personal pockets but the Thai citizinry loses a BUNDLE !

[LukKrueng]

The Government has lost on that rice from day 1. buying anything at twice the market value is not a smart business strategy to begin with.

They should look at it in a different way - any stang they get for this rice is pure profit!! They should remember - it's not the current government which stand to lose face. It's YL and her people that caused this situation.

[jhawks09]

37,000 tons out of 17 million tons = 2% spoilage...

Two percent, so far... It's yesterday's news that upwards of 6 million tons is believed to be unfit for human consumption. Quote from 8/15/2015

"It is estimated that Government stocks currently total about 13.6 million metric tons. Around 7.6

million metric tons are food-grade rice, of which 0.3 million metric tons are good quality rice and

7.3 million metric tons are sub-standard rice. Meanwhile, around 6 million metric tons are nonfood grade rice, of which 4.6 million metric tons are industrial grade rice and 1.4 million metric

tons are rotten rice or unaccounted for." ...from USDA report

http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Rice%20Price%20-%20Weekly_Bangkok_Thailand_8-18-2015.pdf

Sorry this doesn't fit your narrative.

[Srikcir]

The Prayut government may actually want to see as much loss as possible on the sale of this pledged rice to further support its claim for compensation against Yingluck. Case in point:

Sale of rotten rice to go ahead on December 1 despite protest,The Nation 2015-11-24:

"Representatives of the Thai Agricultural Surveyors Association marched to the ministry yesterday to express their concerns that the government would sell this rice too cheaply. The rice surveyors said some of it was of high enough quality to be sold for human consumption, but the government has insisted that most was not fit for consumption.

Montatip Vaiyawanna, president of the Thai Agricultural Surveyors Association, ... insisted that some of the rice from this lot could be sold for human consumption or feedmeal production, bringing in more money for the government."

This protest would be consistent with the original rice survey conducted AFTER NCPO took over the government in May 2014:

'80% of rice is fine', The Nation July 29, 2014:

"Only 10 per cent of rice stockpiles has spoiled and only some sacks were missing, while 80 per cent was in still good condition, the rice inspection committee reported to the Rice Policy Committee meeting yesterday.

The audit of 18 million tonnes of pledged rice stored in granaries has progressed by 72 per cent to 1,290 out of 1,787 locations nationwide.

Rice releases could not be rushed as the market mechanism has to be relied on to minimise instability in rice prices, said General Chatchai Sarikalaya, the National Council for Peace and Order's deputy director for economic affairs.

Jirachai Moonthongroy, inspector-general at the PM's Office, who led the 52nd inspection team, said all 11 warehouses in Phitsanulok have been checked and less than 5 per cent of the rice on record was found missing or exaggerated in volume."

Note: The Head of Government is the Chairman of the Rice Policy Committee. On July 29, 2014 that would be Chief of the NCPO General Prayut.

The so-called loss is really a government subsidy paid by the Prayut government to the rice farmers to honor Yingluck's rice pledge to the farmers. Like all government subsidies such as Prayut's subsequent billions of baht paid to rice and rubber farmers to support a sustainable agricultural economy, the Thai taxpayer ultimately pays the cost. When such costs raise the standard of living for large segments of society, the cost is not really lost.

[Lupatria]

Are you ready for phase 2?

Government likely to lose heavily from auction of spoilt shrimps and fish.

[sawadee1947]

Should be sold or not !, why do they need to ask that question,

the alternative is to keep it,until it rots away to nothing,WHILE

still paying storage charges every month,its a no brainier,BUT

this been Thailand,they might just keep it.

regards Worgeordie

if they would produce alcohol I think they would not have any problems to sell....even it's rotten stuff.. and no storage problems...

[h90]

For what ever the reason, they have a lot of rice that is spoilt and needs to be sold off asap, regardless what its used for making Ethanol/Lao Khao or throwing around a wedding, sell it , beheve like adults and take the loss. no point on crying over spoilt milk, or in this case spoilt rice.

However, learn from this, move on and moving forward, put inplace measures to ensure that next seasons crop yield is processed and stored in programed and functional manner, so that it wont spoil and can be sold for maximum profit, so everyone can profit from the crop.

On a lighter note apparanlty they can use the spoilt rice to rejuvinate spoilt bannanas http://nextshark.com/blow-dryer-rotten-banana-youtube-hack/

Thanks for taking the time to read my post

throwing around rice with insects and rat excrements at weddings

Most probably it will end in the beer production......

[siliconvalley]

Wow..

Newly farmed rice is selling for 8 baht per kilo. The farmers are holding onto this new rice to reseed for next year. My suggestion. Exchange the old rice with the new rice. Give the farmer a bump on price, the market get fresh rice ....everyone wins except the person who is planning on selling old rice at retail price.

[1star]

I do not believe this JUNTA. Not one word and there no better than the previous. I first thought they had great intentions. But like most things here it is not real. How habndy they lost money and who really cares. they been crying about rice for a year.

Grow up and become a man. Show your heart not your mouth

[Thai at Heart]

37,000 tons out of 17 million tons = 2% spoilage...

Two percent, so far... It's yesterday's news that upwards of 6 million tons is believed to be unfit for human consumption. Quote from 8/15/2015

"It is estimated that Government stocks currently total about 13.6 million metric tons. Around 7.6

million metric tons are food-grade rice, of which 0.3 million metric tons are good quality rice and

7.3 million metric tons are sub-standard rice. Meanwhile, around 6 million metric tons are nonfood grade rice, of which 4.6 million metric tons are industrial grade rice and 1.4 million metric

tons are rotten rice or unaccounted for." ...from USDA report

http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Rice%20Price%20-%20Weekly_Bangkok_Thailand_8-18-2015.pdf

Sorry this doesn't fit your narrative.

Well someone is telling porkies, because the Thai side doesn't admit the volume to be that big.

6mn tonnes of non food grade. Ouch. That's a lot of rice to shift into ethanol

[Artisi]

Of course the people storing the rice in such primitive conditions will be billed for the losses, won't they?

Or is that too difficult to think through?

[farmerjo]

The government should save their baht and give it away as foreign aid.

[Dap]

Someone please inform me how anyone loses by

selling cr@P. ?

[slapout]

Of course the people storing the rice in such primitive conditions will be billed for the losses, won't they?

Or is that too difficult to think through?

There should be insurance supplied by storage facility owner for loss of any volume for fire, flood, theft, etc. Plus the bidders for storage should have been required to provide a bond to cover the moneies they were to receive for treatment, storage per month, maintaining clean and secure facilities, etc.

So yes the money should be paid but some may have neglected to fulfill their part and will try to weasel out of making proper restition. That is probably a given.