The Commerce Ministry insists the government has not lost 260 billion baht from rice pledging, as some reports have claimed.
Officials won't say what the real losses are because they are still being calculated. Nor are they ready yet to explain how the government intends to sell the massive piles of rice it has in its stockpiles.
The country's credibility has taken a beating this week after the US rating agency Moody's said the extent of the losses from rice pledging could affect Thailand’s credit standing.
Nattawut, left, and Boonsong: The 260-billion-baht figure is inaccurate.
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and deputy Nattawut Saikuar held a joint press conference on Friday to discuss the finances of the rice scheme.
"The 260-billion-baht figure is made up," said Mr Boonsong.
"Truthfully, the government has allocated a budget of 400 billion baht for the rice-mortgage scheme and all of the money has not been spent yet. Therefore, this figure cannot have occurred."
He said his ministry had returned 120 billion baht so far to the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), and more rice was being delivered from the government's stocks.
The government is expected to pay back the 210-billion-baht loan to the BAAC soon, he added.
"The rice scheme will benefit farmers and stimulate the economy," said Mr Boonsong, who has said almost nothing for months while critics assailed the rice programme's lack of transparency.
Mr Nattawut said the pledging project did not cause the government to lose 260 billion baht. The precise figure cannot be known at this time as there is still some rice in the stocks.
The amount is believed to be staggering, as much as 17 million tonnes and it is proving almost impossible to sell. The country's rice exports last year were down 34% from the year before.
Having paid farmers 15,000 baht a tonne for rice, or 40% above prevailing market prices, the government needs to sell its rice for at least $530 a tonne to break even. But rivals India and Vietnam are able to sell similar grades of the grain for $150 to $170 less, and world rice demand this year has been lukewarm in any case.
The Commerce Ministry has produced almost no evidence of claimed government-to-government sales volumes or prices, which Mr Boonsong has been accused of treating as state secrets.
"The numbers should be out next week because the National Rice Committee will have to consider all related data on the rice-pledging scheme first," said Mr Nattawut.
On Monday, Moody's warned that accumulated and potential losses from the rice-buying scheme, if it is not modified, would make it harder for the Pheu Thai-led government to reach its goal of a balanced budget by 2017 and are a negative factor for Thailand's rating.
The ratings agency quoted a Bangkok Post report that losses from the rice-pledging scheme in the 2011-12 season were bigger than the Finance Ministry originally forecast, and that authorities appeared committed to continuing the scheme without any changes.
The report, which Moody's said it was unable to confirm with government sources, said new estimates based on actual amounts received imply losses of 260 billion baht from the 2011-12 year.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday instructed Mr Boonsong to reveal details of the operating costs of the project, which was introduced in October 2011 to improve Thai farmers' incomes.