A meeting of the National Rice Policy Committee on Thursday was unable to decide on the amount of losses plaguing the rice pledging scheme, Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said.
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom talks to reporters after the National Rice Policy Committee meeting on Thursday at the Commerce Ministry. The panel could not finalise the losses of the controversial rice pledging scheme. (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)
The meeting considered a report submitted by the Finance Ministry's subcommittee overseeing the programme's accounting headed by deputy permanent secretary for finance Supa Piyajitti.
Mr Boonsong said after the meeting that it failed to reach a conclusion as the Finance Ministry and the Commerce Ministry had very different accounting methods in calculating the figures.
The committee would study the two accounting methods and will hold a meeting again on Monday to try to reach a conclusion on the matter, said Mr Boonsong, who chaired the meeting.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva criticised Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for failing to attend the meeting. As chairwoman of the committee, Ms Yingluck could not afford to shirk her responsibilities as the rice pledging is an important issue, he said.