Standing its ground
An architect behind the rice pledging scheme defends the programme, insisting losses should be on a par with what the previous government spent
- Published: 3 Jan 2013 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: Business
The Pheu Thai Party-led government's rice pledging scheme has faced a barrage of criticism among pundits, who have come up with several versions of calculated losses that will later become public debt.
Rice pledging can be abolished when it is no longer needed and when farmers get the prices they deserve, says Mr Olarn.
Other concerns include negative effects on sustainable aids to farmers, oversupply, eroding competitiveness of Thai rice exports, smuggling to take advantage of the scheme and corruption in sales.
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