World Bank: Rice scheme will incur huge losses
- Published: 19 Dec 2012 at 16.56
- Online news: Local News
Thailand is set to lose up to 150 billion baht per harvest through the government's scheme of buying rice at inflated prices, the World Bank warned on Wednesday.
While the international development lender predicted the Thai economy would grow a healthy 4.7% this year as it recovers from the 2011 great floodi, the World Bank also said the government would incur huge losses from some of the populist policies that brought it to power in last year's general election.
It said the "paddy-pledging scheme'' had proven to be the most costly and would ring up a bill of 115 billion to 150 billion baht per harvest. Areas of Thailand harvest rice from one to three times per year.
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