Prayut calls for calm over rice crisis

[Ricardo]

3 minutes ago, Grubster said:

Actually I was implying that the military only takes about half of the countries annual budget and returns nothing, 100% subsidized entity.  All construction on roads, highways, bridges, etc. 100% subsidized.  My biggest problem is after the Hi-Sos take most of the farm land from the people who have produced for this country for hundreds of years they will implement huge subsidies for themselves. The exact same thing happened in the US and others. I would rather these small farmers get it now.

 

Sorry then, I misunderstood the thrust of your post.

 

I think you may be mistaken about the overall size of military spending  ...

 

"The 2017 defense budget, which comes into effect in October and runs up till September 2017, amounted to 210.7 billion Thai baht ($6.1 billion). The figure is a modest increase of 220 million Thai baht over the 2016 defense budget, or about 2 percent.

This amount is about 7 percent of the total government expenditure and around 1.5 percent of the country’s GDP. Both numbers are in line with the general trend over the past decade or so, where Thailand, despite having one of Southeast Asia’s highest levels of defense spending, has lagged behind the regional average percentage-wise on both counts."

 

http://thediplomat.com/2016/09/the-truth-about-thailands-2017-defense-budget-hike/

 

The military here do seem somewhat proactive, in helping the people, when there are floods or natural disasters.

 

But I agree that much of their spending seems mis-directed, I'd love to see something more along the lines of military construction-brigades, building weirs & dams & irrigation-systems & schools & hospitals & roads & railways, and also thereby giving the raw-recruits useful skills in construction which would serve them well after they return to civilian-life !

 

I'd also love to see the land-holdings of hi-so politicians published, would open a few eyes about certain politicians' altruism, I suspect. Which perhaps is why we never quite get to the point of introducing a tax on unproductive-land ?  Or am I too cynical ?

[BuckBee]

even with previous rice scam and summons for damages yingluck looks more PR marketable as a rice crusader than junta banana man :-/ !

It one big mess and even the apple barrel is rotten so things going get lively again in time . without proper reform and intellect it just ground hog day ... just come back from seam reap and to be honest cambodia got a lot to offer without so much bull, thai frowns of deceit that they call smiling is wearing thin lol .

[than]

4 hours ago, Siameaze said:

So USD 400 per tonne should calculate to about B 13.60 per kg.  (400 / 1000 x 34 = 13.6)

 

Yesterday, farmers follow government's plan and sale directly rice to consumer 

result rice sale in range between 22 to 30 THB per Kg

 

for example in Nakhon Ratchasima , 4.5 ton was sale for 140.000 THB  (average 1ton for 31000 THB)

 

[jamesbrock]

10 hours ago, smutcakes said:

Are the rice millers on paying fair prices? Or are they paying low prices because Global prices are down and they unwilling to buy at a price higher than they can sell. Are the millers charities or businesses?

 

If the millers are paying below the cost of production, then they're not paying fair prices. The millers are just as much charities as the farmers are.

 

This whole 'the millers should set the price, and if it's below the cost of production, then the farmers should just lump it because we're not charities' line of thinking stinks. It reminds me of the utterly disgraceful act by Australian dairy co-operatrive Murray Goulburn earlier this year.

 

In order to shore up its profits and maintain it promised dividends to shareholders (investors, not dairy farmers), it not only cut the farm gate price it paid farmers to below production cost, but it did so retrospectively. It deemed that it had paid too high a price for the previous 10 months, so would claw that money back from its suppliers over the next three years - leaving 75% of its suppliers in Victoria alone with an average “clawback” debt of $128,000.

A month later the Victorian Labor government announced $11.4 million aid package (in collaboration with Murray Goulburn, which contributed $1 million), with was only slightly more than the $10 million “golden handshake” paid to Murray Goulburn CEO who resigned his position after the initial announcement led to a spate of suicides.

 

Because they've completely screwed their suppliers, who are leaving in droves, they were able to post a net profit of $42 million for the 2016 financial year, and shareholders were to be paid a fully franked dividend of 3.5c a share.

 

The rice farmers just want to be paid a fair price for their efforts. Someone is making a huge profit, so they don't want charity, they just want whomever is making the profit to make slightly less profit so they (the farmers) can live. How is that too much to ask?

[jerojero]

Soldiers are now farmers. Happiness to the farmer masses. Great idea Mr PM.

[Usernames]

Eat more rice.

[Srikcir]

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

To ease the conflict, everyone should use reason and logic to explain the current situation

Too bad the Thai people can't use the ballot to ease the conflict.

Instead they must endear the vagaries of this government to spin itself into webs of fruitless farm policies that do nothing to promote Sufficiency of the Thai economy.

 

[fruitman]

12 hours ago, bushmill said:

Prayut calls for calm over rice crisis ; how the farmers can do it . They depend on the money to feed their families, pay the (free ) schools for the kids, paying the harvesters, vertelizer and so on.These people do not have your annual income Mr. Prayut. You want to help the people than use your power and order the greedy rice millers to pay fair prices.

 

 

If i was a ricefarmer and i knew the price was low i wouldn't hire harvesters but do it myself. Now i understand how they can loose money. Do they also hire people to plant it? And to fertilize it?  And to water it?

[fruitman]

4 hours ago, than said:

 

Yesterday, farmers follow government's plan and sale directly rice to consumer 

result rice sale in range between 22 to 30 THB per Kg

 

for example in Nakhon Ratchasima , 4.5 ton was sale for 140.000 THB  (average 1ton for 31000 THB)

 

 

Why don't they drive to BKK and sell it along the roads?? Fill a bag with 4kg, keep it on the scale untill somebody buys and it for 100 and next.....

[fruitman]

43 minutes ago, Usernames said:

Eat more rice.

 

If they sell it steamed together with nice satay and peanutsauce, some pickles, strifried mixed vegy i will be customer. Oh and i need takeaway and fast service.

[473geo]

Here is a bit of logic - in 2009 I understand the Thai government held a rice stock of 7 million tons

This would be about the time, factors not controlled by the Thai government, combined to lower the price of rice worldwide

The Rice issue has been in the making for years and this particular year I understand record volumes produced

 

The current government is tasked at this time to work to alleviate the current situation, and they are trying to do so.

[tbthailand]

6 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

 

Not complete and total nonsense, the post is very accurate and you know it tb, in fact your the one posting nonsense.

 

It is only accurate if you are being spoon-fed Junta propaganda  .... 

But let's take a couple of points:

Nonsense point #1  -  No thinking person that I know of excuses corruption in any situation, and not certainly based on a government being elected... But thinking people recognize that democratically elected governments and an uncensored press create more transparency in society and that helps to expose / reduce corruption, where as a military junta with unlimited power and full-on censorship reduces transparency which allows corruption to flourish... 

Nonsense point #2 - blaming the end of democracy on "the Shins" and not on "the military", or on "the coup", ... 100% grade A horse manure, ...

 

 

And that is just from the single paragraph that I quoted... he also parrots Uncle Prem, Too and the claim that worldwide rice prices are being manipulated by Thai millers and Thai politicians (doing so just to make poor Uncle Too look bad, boo-hoo!).  He also states that the reason for the last 2 coups was, drum roll, please, ..... Thaksin.  Funny enough that Thaksin wasn't around to be the punching bag for the other 18 coups, ... 

 

And it drivels on and on and on, ... 

 

Get real. 

Edited November 6, 2016 by tbthailand

[Srikcir]

2 minutes ago, 473geo said:

they are trying to do so

and failing.

Time for plan B, C and D.

[tukkytuktuk]

Why worry only the poor rural communities will suffer, look on the bright side there was no major flooding in Bangkok this year. Yes sarcasm. But this rice crisis seems to be ongoing. What is going on? Vietnam must be rubbing their hands together and laughing. Very embarrassing for not just the current government but the last and the experts running the show behind closed doors. Still, with time and lessons learnt , I,m sure they can solve this crisis once and for all. If not it won't only be Thai farmer's that suffer, as Thailand is the rice bowl of the world.

[473geo]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

 

If i was a ricefarmer and i knew the price was low i wouldn't hire harvesters but do it myself. Now i understand how they can loose money. Do they also hire people to plant it? And to fertilize it?  And to water it?

 

You've never spent a day up to your knees in water planting rice

You've never spent a day in the rice paddy hand reaping, out in the rural areas it was not unusual to see old ladies walking bent over due to years of scratching a living reaping. Thankfully not so common now.

You've never hand threshed, a slow laborious task beating the rice over a wooden block.

You've never spent a day out in the fields loading the rice sheaf into a mesh pouch and carry to the threshing area.

You've never worked and dried rice

You've never bagged and carried the rice to the rice barn

Following this the rice is then in need of the husk removed local cost usually about 20 baht a 25 kg bag

 

In short you would be well advised not to be a rice farmer, as you clearly have no clue to the huge amount of work involved in a manual end to end process. But you are correct a manual process is more cost efficient, if you have a large family. For a lone operator as you  plan to be, you could end up eating the rice as fast as you produce it!!

[473geo]

43 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

and failing.

Time for plan B, C and D.

 

You are welcome to supply a list of where you feel the current government measures are falling short? To my way of thinking they only just got started. There are village meetings being held to publicise the proposed BAAC actions to support the farmers, also farmers have engaged in the selling direct suggestion. It's a start on the long road to providing a more radical and permanent solution without causing pain and suffering.

[performance]

We called for a non army election and genuine original PM. I suppose there's no harm in calling. Good luck.

[bushmill]

10 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

If i was a ricefarmer and i knew the price was low i wouldn't hire harvesters but do it myself. Now i understand how they can loose money. Do they also hire people to plant it? And to fertilize it?  And to water it?

The farmer I do know in our village have always done itby them self , If youdo it alone by hand it take 6 - 7 times longer and a helperwill claim now the minimum wage from 300 Baht/ day  These same people doin the planting ( most use seeds now ) and all the work by themself because they can'tafford people to do it. I'm not sure what do you now about small or middle sized farms in Isaan I have seen it the last 20 years and worked on it too.

 

[fruitman]

9 hours ago, 473geo said:

 

You've never spent a day up to your knees in water planting rice

You've never spent a day in the rice paddy hand reaping, out in the rural areas it was not unusual to see old ladies walking bent over due to years of scratching a living reaping. Thankfully not so common now.

You've never hand threshed, a slow laborious task beating the rice over a wooden block.

You've never spent a day out in the fields loading the rice sheaf into a mesh pouch and carry to the threshing area.

You've never worked and dried rice

You've never bagged and carried the rice to the rice barn

Following this the rice is then in need of the husk removed local cost usually about 20 baht a 25 kg bag

 

In short you would be well advised not to be a rice farmer, as you clearly have no clue to the huge amount of work involved in a manual end to end process. But you are correct a manual process is more cost efficient, if you have a large family. For a lone operator as you  plan to be, you could end up eating the rice as fast as you produce it!!

 

That's why farang grow spuds mate! And i even like 'em better!

 

 

[sawadee1947]

did he call to be calm when Yingluck did it????