Second crop shortfall not such a blessing

Published: 4 Mar 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

The continuing drought which has substantially cut back the harvest of the second-crop paddy for this year means a loss of much-needed revenue for many farmers. But to the contrary, it represents a blessing in disguise for the Commerce Ministry.

Commerce permanent secretary Watcharee Vimuktayon says only seven million tonnes of second-crop paddy will be bought under the rice pledging scheme as against 11 million tonnes estimated earlier because of the drought. As such, only about 100 billion baht will be needed to support the populist scheme as against 165 billion baht earlier approved by the cabinet.

The permanent secretary is confident there will be enough funds to buy the seven million tonnes of paddy or unmilled rice without the need for the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), the chief financier of the rice pledging scheme, to secure additional loans to shore up its liquidity.

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bangmodken
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Discussion 2 : 04 Mar 2013 at 13.502
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Khun Veera,your opinion pieces gets better and better each time. Thais and aliens depend on your unbiased and accurate reports. Thanks for the effort you put into the interest of this nation and it's people. Keep up the good work.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 1 : 04 Mar 2013 at 09.001
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Even if the govt manages to sell all the rice eventually, at the higher end of the median range (about $550 per milled/packaged tonne) they stand to lose 100 billion baht in this. There are 1 million rice farmers participating, it would have been far better just to write them each a cheque for 100,000 baht. Of course, with this sort of annual bonus, everyone would quit their factory jobs and go back to rice farming.
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Second crop shortfall not such a blessing | Bangkok Post: opinion