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More rice vanishes as PM vows tighter stock checks

PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

Another 288 tonnes of paddy from government warehouses have gone missing, according to Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan.

The missing paddy comes on top of 13,000 tonnes of milled rice estimated to be missing from the 2.1 million tonnes of official stockpiles.

Mr Mingkwan acknowledged yesterday that high rice prices had led to increased theft from government warehouses and fraud by millers seeking to turn rapid profits.

Paddy prices have averaged around 11,000 baht per tonne this year, compared with 5,000 to 6,000 baht last year.

Mr Mingkwan shrugged off reports that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej wanted to set up his own inspection teams to audit government stockpiles.

Mr Mingkwan said that since taking office in February, he had established a committee to monitor stockpiles every 15 days. ''It's good to help recheck the Commerce Ministry's investigation work to make sure that the rice stocks, which are owned by the people, remain intact,'' he said.

Mr Samak announced his decision on Thursday, ordering the PM's Office to form a 1,000-member team to monitor whether government rice now held on behalf of the state by private millers remained intact.

But observers said the move was a clear vote of no confidence in the Commerce Ministry, which is officially responsible for monitoring rice stocks.

Nonetheless, Yanyong Phuangrach, the head of the Commerce Ministry's Internal Trade Department, said he welcomed the new panels set by the prime minister. Mr Yanyong said they would help supervise and cross-check the new rice that would be supplied to the government's stocks under the new rice-pledging scheme.

The cabinet last week approved 25 billion baht for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC) to purchase rice paddy from farmers.

The BAAC will purchase the rice under the pledging programme at a guaranteed price of 14,000 baht per tonne for white rice. The project, which runs from tomorrow until Sept 15, aims to purchase up to 2.5 million tonnes of paddy.

This policy has been designed to solve the problem of falling rice prices in recent weeks. The project will first focus on areas facing sharply falling prices such as Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Suphan Buri and Ang Thong.

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