Ministry in hunt for missing rice

Business > Economics

Shortfall in mortgage scheme draws audit

Published: 6/01/2012 at 05:06 AM
Newspaper section: Business

The Commerce Ministry will order rice millers to report their stocks to verify information, as only 4.7 million tonnes of paddy, an unusually low amount, has entered the mortgage scheme.

Permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach said the ministry is concerned about the accuracy of the information, so the fresh reports will help adjust the government's rice policy to match the actual situation after the flood crisis.

He said there were only 2,000 tonnes of paddy being pledged at the barn out of a total of 4.7 million tonnes pledged with the government since the programme began this past Oct 7, with the scheme set to end by Feb 28.

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About the author

: Writer: Phusadee Arunmas; Position: Business Reporter

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rex

Discussion 8 : 08/01/2012 at 05:13 AM8
A Thai friend had a fertilizer business. He made about 20 baht per bag. Within 6 months the price per bag near tripled and he made 5 baht per bag. He borrowed heavily (as did many) to buy stock ahead of the price rises. Millions of tons of fertilizer was taken into retail outlets on borrowed cash. Then Jesus turned up and low, a miracle; the price halved overnight. The clear manipulation of the price and profiteering would be worthy of investigation... But then as usual, there is no case to answer!!!
from iPhone application.
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dao
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Discussion 7 : 06/01/2012 at 11:32 AM7
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Fools play with market prices so greedy people can horde .
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dao
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Discussion 6 : 06/01/2012 at 11:31 AM6
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Only fools play with market prices .
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bluebkk
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Discussion 5 : 06/01/2012 at 10:30 AM5
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Hahahaha, where is the rice and where are the bags of money????
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onlyme
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Discussion 4 : 06/01/2012 at 09:54 AM4
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Since, supposedly, the budget already was at 430 billion and only 100 billion is used, why not transfer the 330 billion difference to look after debt interest and to pay for future flood prevention. Wouldn't that be better than the shuffle of over 1 trillion in debt between the Finance Ministry and FIDF so the government can further expand debt?
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arch
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Discussion 3 : 06/01/2012 at 09:12 AM3
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No sweating.
Thousands of tons of rice will be smuggled daily from Cambodia into Thailand and become eligible for the mortgage scheme. The rice barons will make killing. And of course the taxpayers have to shoulder the bill.
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hillfarang
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Discussion 2 : 06/01/2012 at 08:12 AM2
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Maybe the "mice" got it... you know, the ones with 'big eyes'...
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brilliant
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Discussion 1 : 06/01/2012 at 08:09 AM1
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Well, the another boondoggle for this government already. Who's going to get the money from the "missing" 5 million tons of rice? 5 million tons? What is that, equivalent to a small mountain? Not as easy to hide in a government official's house as, say, a few hundred million baht in paper bags.
What's next, another rubber sapling fiasco?
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Ministry in hunt for missing rice | Bangkok Post: business