The state-run Public Warehouse Organization (PWO) is moving ahead with plans to invest in a silo development, but a final decision will rest on a feasibility study.
A rice silo in Phichit province. KOSOL NAKACHOL
President Chanudpakorn Vongseenin said it is hiring a consulting firm to study the feasibility of the development and investment budget as well as a viable investment structure.
"There are four possible directions for the silo development _ the PWO's entire investment, a joint venture with private partners, private investment or a concession," said Mr Chanudpakorn.
He said European investors are keen to invest in silos in Thailand.
However, in the preliminary stage the PWO may need to have its own pilot project, possibly in Saraburi province.
"As far as we've studied, a silo that is worth investment should run with a capacity of 50,000 to 200,000 tonnes, while construction should take not more than 10 months," said Mr Chanudpakorn.
Despite the PWO planning a silo project for some years, it has never come to fruition. Its last plan called for tenders from contractors to build a silo in each of 10 provinces to store the PWO's farm produce.
But the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) last year uncovered irregularities in the tender process, saying the PWO signed a contract with one company without seeking the approval of its board.
The winning tender was even announced before bidding took place.
The DSI also found the bidding criteria did not require bidders to have any experience in silo operations even though the contract ran into billions of baht.
The investigation came after the PWO in 2011 said it had reached a deal with GGF (Thailand) to lease silos in 10 provinces from the the Malaysian-Thai joint venture firm for storing 2 million tonnes of rice.
In a separate development, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan yesterday denied a report that the government has incurred a loss of 400 billion baht from its rice-pledging programme over two years.
The final loss has yet to be determined, he said.
Mr Niwatthamrong also insisted the ministry expects to be able to pay back not less than 200 billion baht to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
So far, the ministry has repaid 160 billion baht to the BAAC, he said.
Separately, a subcommittee governing the rice-pledging scheme chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong will today consider allowing 300,000 tonnes of paddy worth 4-5 billion baht under the 2013 second crop to be pledged.
The amount was submitted for pledging after the deadline, said Supat Eauchai, a BAAC executive vice-president.
The government's pledging period for the 2013 second crop ended on Sept 15, with the exception of the South, where it runs until the end of next month.
Starting from the next harvest season, the pledged amount is capped at 500,000 baht per farming household, while the pledging price for paddy from the main crop remains the same _ 15,000 baht a tonne for white rice and 20,000 baht for Hom Mali. The main crop programme runs from today to Feb 28.
The price for second-crop paddy has been set at 13,000 baht a tonne, with the value capped at 300,000 baht per household. The second crop programme runs from March 1-Sept 30, 2014.