Damage to paddy may hit 7m tonnes

Business > Economics

FLOODING

But officials claim exports won't suffer

Published: 15/10/2011 at 05:19 AM
Newspaper section: Business

Floods have already damaged about 700,000 tonnes of paddy but the final tally could be 6-7 million tonnes, says the Commerce Ministry.

Fields in Lop Buri are among the hundreds of thousands of rai now under water. PHRAKRIT JUNTAWONG

However, the impact on exports of Thai rice this year is expected to be limited and the country will still be able to export 11 million tonnes of rice, said Yanyong Phuangrach, the ministry's permanent secretary.

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grayem
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Discussion 5 : 15/10/2011 at 05:20 PM5
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If profiteering from disaster is the food of capitalism I hope it chokes.
The demand for bags is already there so a Walmart approach of stack 'em high sell 'em cheap would seem a more efficient market at work.
Sell more bags (because more can afford them, better defences are built, less damage caused, buisiness back to normal quicker, etc., etc.
Long live Fanny May eh? Haven't you learned yet, quick short term profit benefits hardly anyone in the long term.
My thought are with those in the thousands of moo ban, not with the well-heeled of Bangkok. Westernisation (capitalism) roads urbanisation, deforestation, blocking of natural drain aways, etc., has exacurbated this problem, not Thai rural dwellers growing crops but they will suffer the most.
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englishbob
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Discussion 4 : 15/10/2011 at 04:30 PM4
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Loss of 6-7 million tonnes?

I'm sure Peua Thai are sighing with relief... That's just saved them a whole lot of rice they pledged to buy at an inflated price.
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johninbkk
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Discussion 3 : 15/10/2011 at 12:01 PM3
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"a large suburban construction materials store was selling 20-kilogramme sandbags at 55 baht, double the normal price."
If they sold at the regular price, they would have sold out - leaving people with nothing to buy. Allowing capitalism to work encourages more suppliers to start selling bags, ie due to higher profits, resulting in more people with more sand bags to protect their homes. Price-fixing only makes things worse - remember the empty shelves of fixed-price palm oil or have we already forgotten?
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hillfarang
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Discussion 2 : 15/10/2011 at 10:28 AM2
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sirron (D 1) wrote:

"The good news is local people can and will go in and cut the old fashioned way before automation came along and took away a annual income source for some families."

EXCELLENT!

This is the only way that the hill farmers in the north (my people operate along with their Lanna Thai neighbors). When petrol may be scarce, expensive or not available, they can still eat!
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sirron
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Discussion 1 : 15/10/2011 at 06:05 AM1
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A small part of the "big picture" - Our little village is grateful to have escaped major flooding. Some surrounding rice fields have turned yellow and are ready for harvest. The bad news is the fields are filled with shin deep water and the small automated cutters/harvesters used here won't go in and cut. The good news is local people can and will go in and cut the old fashioned way before automation came along and took away a annual income source for some families.
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Damage to paddy may hit 7m tonnes | Bangkok Post: business