About 220,000 tonnes of low-quality rice under the former Yingluck Shinawatra government's loss-ridden rice-pledging programme remain in government stocks, with losses initially estimated at about 500 billion baht.
Rachada Dhnadirek, deputy government spokeswoman, said that even though the rice-pledging scheme was terminated several years ago, the financial burden still hangs heavy on the national budget.
The state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) reported that the Budget Bureau has set aside 69 billion baht under the 2022 fiscal budget for the government to pay debts incurred by the scheme to the BAAC.
Currently, the government has a debt of 100 billion baht incurred by the scheme to pay to the BAAC, she said, adding the Budget Bureau is expected to earmark 10-20% of the national budget to pay the debt each year, which would take 3-5 years to clear.
Ms Rachada also said the Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO), a state enterprise under the Commerce Ministry, will wrap up its accounting of the rice-pledging scheme, with about 220,000 tonnes of rice remaining in government stocks.
All the rice is of degrading quality and is not fit for consumption by humans or animals. It can only be used for industrial purposes, she said.
The PWO plans to release all the stocks by next September and the PWO will then be able to wrap up its accounting.
Initially, the PWO estimated a loss of 500 billion baht as a result of the scheme during the 2011-2014 crop seasons, Ms Rachada said, adding some 1,443 lawsuits have been filed against those involved in graft related to it.
She said losses were also caused by selling the rice at low prices at auctions. The old rice fetches low prices, she said, adding the government has to rent warehouses to store it, among other costs.
Kriangsak Prateepwisarut, director of the PWO, said the agency has asked the Rice Policy and Management Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to allow it to release the 220,000 tonnes.
If approved, the PWO will need over six months to release the stocks by holding auctions to sell the rice that can be used in the industry sector, Mr Kriangsak said.
Of the 1,143 lawsuits filed by the PWO, 1,136 have been lodged with the Central Administrative Court, and the rest are pending trials in the Supreme Administrative Court.