Thailand to sell stockpiled rice at market prices

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Govt accepts it will lose on rice

Published: 7 Mar 2013 at 11.54
Online news: Local News

The government will have to sell off its rice stockpile amassed under the rice pledging scheme at market prices, PM's Office Minister Nawatthamrong Boonsongpaisan admitted on Thursday.

The government will have to take a big loss on the sale, because pledging prices were set much higher than the market price, he said.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra recently assigned Mr Nawatthamrong to oversee the rice pledging scheme and ensure that taxpayer funding for the programme does not exceed 500 billion baht per year.

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Ian
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Discussion 63 : 08 Mar 2013 at 08.3163
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I find it quite hilarious the way all the anti PT mob here are jumping with joy at yet another example of PT stupidity, yet only a few have looked a bit deeper than the surface figures. The real problem of course is not the PT, nor any other political party, the problem that doomed this scheme was the usual problem of corruption.
America, UK, France, EU, all have agricultural subsidy schemes, they more or less work because they are tightly controlled. The rice scheme backfired because of total corruption which permeates the entire society, not just the PT.
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djay
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Discussion 62 : 08 Mar 2013 at 08.0662
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It is interesting that some of those posting, not many mind you, seem to think that Thai's will learn their lesson from this, or the government will change as a result. You really haven't been in Thailand that long have you.
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Mampara
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Discussion 61 : 08 Mar 2013 at 07.5361
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The stockpile is growing, the rice is rotting, the poor are hungry, Sell everything at a loss eliminate the corruption and start again, only this time control it properly.
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jielus
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Discussion 60 : 08 Mar 2013 at 07.4760
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It's not really a complete loss. The income generated by subsidies flows directly back into the economy. So it's a spiral. Subsidies will by pick-up trucks!
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whatajoke
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Discussion 59 : 08 Mar 2013 at 07.0859
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Considering the potential losses if we're facing another decade or so of a Shinawatra govt making these sorts of ruinous populist decisions, then maybe it won't be such a bad thing if the debt incurred from the rice scheme leads to another financial crash. Finally the democratic judges of this country (all 15 million of them) will come to their senses and chose a more sensible party. If so, I will consider 400 billion to be money well spent.
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johnb
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Discussion 58 : 08 Mar 2013 at 06.5758
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Not that I agree with any of them, but US Farm policy has been subsidising US farmers for nearly 100 years & currently to the annual tune of 20 billion US. European CAP in 2010 was 44 billion Euro.
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faceless
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Discussion 57 : 08 Mar 2013 at 05.5957
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Can Thailand afford this level of incompetence and corruption?

It's a very high price to pay for what is being pedaled as democracy.
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DavidMac
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Discussion 56 : 08 Mar 2013 at 05.5956
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Is the rice market sold short? If so by how much? If it is short, is it possible to publish the names of those who hold the largest short positions? I fear such information will be "sensitive and secret."
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faceless
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Discussion 55 : 08 Mar 2013 at 05.5155
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I think it's wrong to keep referring to the money lost (and pilfered) as taxpayers' money. The money is the country's money, all of society. It's just that the majority are poor and below the tax threshold. Education should be focussed on getting people to understand that incompetence and corruption that erodes the country's wealth is affecting everybody, not just "the taxpayers". To some they have become the enemy. Divide abd conquer. TS has got it down to an art form.
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DONHUAN
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Discussion 54 : 08 Mar 2013 at 01.4354
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All those billions of Baht sold at huge loss; doesn’t anyone seriously think the paddy farmers or the people in the NE cared about this inconvenient truth? It’s not their tax monies anyway because they don’t ever pay any taxes; only the rich and elite ‘Amatas’ in Bangkok are the suckers in this rice guarantee schemes. Maybe that’s their way of ‘payback’ for ousting their favor poster boy. So far as they are concerned, have more of the same please. All of us can only scream and yell: “It’s not fair!!!” but they have the numbers, folks and there’s nothing we can do about it, except of course, rants till the cows come hom
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Thailand to sell stockpiled rice at market prices | Bangkok Post: news

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