PM orders ministry to sell government’s costly rice stockpile

[snoop1130]

PM orders ministry to sell government’s costly rice stockpile

By The Nation

 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Commerce Ministry to sell its still-large stocks of rice, as it costs the government an average of Bt1 billion a month to maintain the stockpile.

 

He told the “Thailand Rice Convention 2017” on Monday that the government had sold 13 million tonnes out of a total of 18 million tonnes of rice harvested under the mortgage scheme. 

 

“We took up to three years to sell that rice stock, at prices lower than [those under] the rice mortgage scheme because of the deterioration of the rice [during that time],” the PM said.

 

However, the government must now clear all of the remaining stock in order to improve rice prices for long the term, he explained. 

 

The government also has to collaborate with the private sector in drawing up a national master plan to develop Thailand’s agriculture into an agricultural-processing sector within the next 20 years, and especially for the production of innovative rice, Prayut added.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30316643

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-5-29

[cooked]

So that means low prices for the farmers again this year and next year?

[darksidedog]

With current rice prices for lower grade about 18,000 Baht a metric ton 13 million brought in 234 Billion Baht. With another 5 Million tons worth another 90 Billion.

That is more than the rice pledging scheme lost, so maybe he will withdraw the lawsuit against Yingluck now.

Oh, I forgot, that was politically motivated and had sod all to do with the money involved.

http://www.riceauthority.com/prices/

[webfact]

Prayut demands clear-out of rice stockpiles before end of his regime
By THE NATION

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presides over the opening of Thailand Rice Convention. The international forum on knowledge exchange and industry development ends today.

 

BANGKOK: -- PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Commerce Ministry to accelerate sales of the rice in its stockpiles within the term of his military-led regime, as storage costs have been exceeding Bt1 billion a month.

 

Speaking yesterday at the Thailand Rice Convention in Bangkok, an international event aimed at knowledge exchange and discussions on developing the rice industry, Prayut stressed the need to sell off the entire rice stockpile, which had been putting pressure of Thai rice prices for two to three years.

 

To date, the Commerce Ministry has sold about 13 million tonnes of the 18 million tonnes of rice it had in stock, worth more than Bt100 billion.

 

Prayut partially blamed corruption for the low revenues earned from sales of rice rather than the costs entailed by the last elected government’s rice-pledging programme, while legal cases arising from that programme drag on in several courts. 

 

The other reason the government must expedite sales of the rice remaining in its warehouses is that its existence has severely distorted the normal rice trade mechanism.

 

“Having rice in storage has cost the government more than Bt1 billion per month. The key target is to release rice in stock within this government’s term so that it will not have to shoulder this burden further and the [rice] market mechanism will return to normal,” Prayut said.

 

The next target is to add value to Thai rice and make Thailand the leader in rice trade with internationally recognised innovative rice products and an efficient rice-market mechanism, he said.

 

A strategic plan for the rice industry is conclude in the Prayut regime’s 20-year national strategy. It includes production restructuring, reduction of rice-farming areas, a balance between production for local consumption and for export, and making farmers more self-sufficient for sustainability. 

 

Clustering of community enterprises for rice innovation is also encouraged in line with the regime’s “Thailand 4.0” policy, and the next step is to push for concrete plans.

 

On the regional front, Prayut said Thailand was trying to connect its plans for the rice market with those of neighbouring countries particularly Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), given their proximity in culture and lifestyle. 

 

Collaboration will yield more benefits than competition, and this collaboration must embrace the whole system extending from the public to private and business sectors, he said.

 

CLMV pays high attention on a transformation from rice grown for sales to rice with innovation for higher rice prices, while changing farming crops suitable for land.

 

Prayut said farmers should change their mindsets to see opportunities in consumer trends. Outstanding products such as bakery materials, cosmetics and skincare products must be developed to serve the mass market.

 

If this strategy is successful, Thailand will become the leader in the rice market as targeted and, under the 20-year national strategy, drive itself out of the middle-income trap, he said.

 

In regard to Thailand’s G2G with China, no progress has been made yet, Prayut said, adding the problem arose in difficulties in negotiation in other matters an that affected the rice trade negotiation. 

 

Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said development of the rice industry would focus on linking research and innovation with commercial products, both food and non-food.

 

Rice prices have been rising after her ministry expedited the sale of stockpiled rice and there is about 2 million tonnes left, she said.

 

The Thailand Rice Convention brought together representatives of the public and private sectors from more than 40 countries including China, Japan, Malaysia, Iran and South Africa. 

 

During the event, the government met with Iraq’s trade minister on opportunities for export of Thai rice to that country. It also met with Vietnam’s deputy minister of industry and trade to discuss bilateral cooperation.

The convention was also a venue for business matching between Thai exporters of rice and rice products and importers. 

 

Today, foreign representatives were to visit the Royal Chitralada Project involving the processing of Thai rice into innovative products.

 

The Thailand Rice Convention, which began on Sunday and ends today, aims to promote Thailand as the world’s rice-trade centre and showcase Thai rice innovation. It is hosted by the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Foreign Trade in cooperation with other organisations in both the public and private sectors. 

 

Highlights of the convention include the multidimensional facets of innovation within Thailand’s rice industry. 

 

“The Thailand Rice Convention 2017 comes under the theme ‘Rice Plus’, as it aims at showcasing Thailand’s potential in the global arena for quality rice trade and production,” Apiradi said. 

 

“Various innovative rice products are presented, showing how far the Thai rice industry has advanced in its technological development and technological integration. Reaping the benefits of the technological revolution, all parties in the industry have benefited from tremendous value addition to rice. This corresponds with the government’s ‘Thailand 4.0’ economic model striving to transform the Thai economy into a value-based economy.” 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/EconomyAndTourism/30316667

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-30

[kotsak]

"Prayut demands clear-out of rice stockpiles before end of his regime."

 

Well, that means they have all the time in the world to complete the task 

[Thechook]

When is the regime going to hand the country back?

[JAG]

They're've not.

[canuckamuck]

Anyone know which was more expensive to Thailand: The rice pledging debacle or the purposeless submarines?

[edwinchester]

Announcing so publicly that you are in a hurry to sell off large rice stocks seems a pretty good way of keeping the price down to me. Rice farmers stuffed for at least another couple of years.

[halloween]

13 hours ago, darksidedog said:

With current rice prices for lower grade about 18,000 Baht a metric ton 13 million brought in 234 Billion Baht. With another 5 Million tons worth another 90 Billion.

That is more than the rice pledging scheme lost, so maybe he will withdraw the lawsuit against Yingluck now.

Oh, I forgot, that was politically motivated and had sod all to do with the money involved.

http://www.riceauthority.com/prices/

Do you think that Thai accountants are so thick that they wouldn't take the value of the stockpile into account when assessing the losses? You have counted that value twice, do it a 3rd time and claim she made a profit.

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, canuckamuck said:

Anyone know which was more expensive to Thailand: The rice pledging debacle or the purposeless submarines?

one poster here recently extended out the actual total cost of the submarines and he calc around 200 billion baht; his logic seemed sound as he noted all the less visible components and costed each one

[worgeordie]

The ones that are making the most profit from the rice debacle,are 

the godown owners,that's where most of the 1 Billion THB p.m. will

be going to,and it seems never ending .they would be better giving

the rice away free to poor countries,and clear all the backlog,start

afresh again,and try and gain Thailand's reputations for quality rice. 

regards worgeordie

[mikebell]

If they threw the rice away they could save 12 billion in a year and thus could afford another sub.

[sujoop]

13 hours ago, darksidedog said:

With current rice prices for lower grade about 18,000 Baht a metric ton 13 million brought in 234 Billion Baht. With another 5 Million tons worth another 90 Billion.

That is more than the rice pledging scheme lost, so maybe he will withdraw the lawsuit against Yingluck now.

Oh, I forgot, that was politically motivated and had sod all to do with the money involved.

http://www.riceauthority.com/prices/

Here's just one sample of the vast rice scheme corruption under Yingluck  - a fictional China deal which links a red-shirt leader , a Pheu Thai party MP and a Thaksin insider:
 

Dummy firm tied to govt figures

*Guangzhou-based GSSG Import and Export Corporation, was actually represented by a Thai man called Rathanit Sojirakul, who later authorised Phichit-based Nimon Rakdi to (sign) a contract to purchase 5 million tonnes of rice on the company’s behalf. ...Rathanit was a close aide to Pheu Thai MP Rapeephan Phongruangrong, who is the wife of red-shirt leader Arisman Phongruangrong. ...Rathanit, who claimed to be the authorised representative of the Chinese firm, only has Bt64.63 in his bank account...
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/politics/aec/30195106
 

Love this comment from Yingluck's (Thaksin's) Commerce minister:
“(After buying the rice) I won’t be investigating what buyers do with it,” he said.
 

So, Yingluck + Commerce Minister obviously were not interested in investigating their corruption laden program but some may ask, what happened to the rice in this supposedly 'innocent normal subsidy deal'?
 

*The G-to-G deal was a fake because no rice was exported to the Chinese firm. Instead, the huge amount of milled rice was sold locally at below market price by the Foreign Trade Department to a ghost buyer who then sold the rice at market price to the two Thai firms which have their own rice mills and later on the same amount of rice were pledged with the government at pledging prices which are about 40 percent above market price.
 

The gang, it was alleged, made double profits from the same amount of rice.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-yingluck-probed-connection-fake-rice-deal/

 

Meanwhile, the poorest farmers weren't even part of the program (!) The entire program was a fraud from the outset.
 

Thaksin speaks, Yingluck does and this was the result. From Thaksin's buddies faked G 2 G deals, to all involved along the rotten way, the end result was huge windfalls for insiders and huge losses to Thailand. This was not a case of mere mismanagement, nor a case of a 'normal subsidy' program, rather at a minimum a case of willful head-in-sand collusive criminal negligence on Yingluck's part.

 

Yes General, sell the rotting remaining stocks for whatever it will fetch and by all means keep pushing for diversification and enhancing related industries/jobs.

[halloween]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

The ones that are making the most profit from the rice debacle,are 

the godown owners,that's where most of the 1 Billion THB p.m. will

be going to,and it seems never ending .they would be better giving

the rice away free to poor countries,and clear all the backlog,start

afresh again,and try and gain Thailand's reputations for quality rice. 

regards worgeordie

IMHO the "secret" meeting between Yingluk and the property developers was a heads up, boys. Start building rice storage because we are going to need a lot of it and will pay premium prices, and nobody's going to look too close if there's a bit of sleight of hand.

[John1012]

4 hours ago, worgeordie said:

The ones that are making the most profit from the rice debacle,are 

the godown owners,that's where most of the 1 Billion THB p.m. will

be going to,and it seems never ending .they would be better giving

the rice away free to poor countries,and clear all the backlog,start

afresh again,and try and gain Thailand's reputations for quality rice. 

regards worgeordie

Excellent idea, there are African countries that are verging on famine situations that would appreciate the donation. Think of the international face that Thailand would gain??R. did I misspell face?  And as another poster intimated, the 12Bn saved could be reinvested in polishing and cleaning the pretty submarines (due to the wear and tear  to the hulls patrolling  of the extremely deep waters around Thailand in the expectation of a seaborne invasion) and  possibly buying a plane for  the non aircraft carrier.

[halloween]

36 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

It really is a shame that military coups, judicial bias, junta rule and martial law (or sec 44, whichever) has tainted any truth in what you say, and that any allegations or charges, warranted or otherwise, will always have more than a whiff of 'politically motivation' about them.

Yeah, don't dispute the facts, just claim political motivation. Or google Siam Indica for another insight of the criminals at work.

[Srikcir]

Another failed rice scheme that tries to circumvent the international market.

No recrimination, no dereliction of duty, no compensation to the Thai taxpayer for lost revenues.

The Democrat Party withheld this time any prediction of obvious economic failure.

The Prayut government remains invulnerable and unaccountable.

Finally Prayut found something that money can't buy - folly.

 

 

[halloween]

11 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Another failed rice scheme that tries to circumvent the international market.

No recrimination, no dereliction of duty, no compensation to the Thai taxpayer for lost revenues.

The Democrat Party withheld this time any prediction of obvious economic failure.

The Prayut government remains invulnerable and unaccountable.

Finally Prayut found something that money can't buy - folly.

 

 

Which "failed rice scheme" would that be? The junta are left with the hangover from Yingluk's binge, and every remedy causes someone pain.

[Srikcir]

2 hours ago, halloween said:

Which "failed rice scheme" would that be?

It's called the granary-pledge scheme, the rice mortgage scheme and the rice-pledging scheme  - implemented by the Prayut government. Abhisit warned that the government should be cautious when implementing their policy, because "we’ve had expensive lessons in the past." (Critics flay govt rice policy, November 2016)

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30299015

 

[djayz]

What?! They still haven't sold the old rice?! It's costing a ฿ billion a month to store it?! How much longer do they plan on keeping it in storage?! Nuts! 

The never ending rice saga...