Public still kept in the dark about rice deals

Published: 27 Nov 2012 at 13.07
Online news: Opinion

Despite the admission by Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong that the rice pledging scheme is problematic and will incur losses which are yet to be assessed, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom remain adamant that the scheme is fine and benefits the farmers.

That said, I am not sure whether Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong was just joking or being serious when he told the reporters at the parliament on Monday that he would encourage rice farmers to turn to growing cassava and sugarcane if Thai rice could not be sold on the world market at a price which would enable them to live a better life.

Has anybody ever seen cassava or sugarcane being grown in a flooded, low-lying rice field? The two crops do not need that much water, let alone a flooded paddy field. Sugarcane needs a lot of water, but it must be on well-drained soil. The two crops can be grown pretty well on dry land unsuitable for many other crops.

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brilliant
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Discussion 22 : 29 Nov 2012 at 05.2322
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facts_only - well if you're not johninbkk, your his uncle. Exact same senseless postings and exact same style. You should rethink your whole MO.
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facts_only
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Discussion 21 : 28 Nov 2012 at 21.0921
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brilliant 20, "you've been quoting "sources" for the last 6 months"
My account is 28 days old.
"about Thailand was still #1."
For example?
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brilliant
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Discussion 20 : 28 Nov 2012 at 20.0020
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facts_only - john, you've been quoting "sources" for the last 6 months about Thailand was still #1. Now you quote Yingluck as a credible source? Funny.
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meme
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Discussion 19 : 28 Nov 2012 at 17.2419
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d16: Guess you missed the economics class in school, just like Kittiratt. Revenue does not equal profit ...
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SawGeorge
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Discussion 18 : 28 Nov 2012 at 12.2818
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Do you know why some comments won't reach the public...because they are so true and sometimes Truth is very serious to them and that's the way it's going on and on and people have been suffering from debts.
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SawGeorge
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Discussion 17 : 28 Nov 2012 at 12.1517
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When only asking mentioned that lower income families will revert back to staples such as rice, such that it will increased or at least stabilised rice prices...How could someone afford if these families incomes are low and the rice prices increasing??? The main problem is not about increasing the price of rice (rice pledging) it is about the living standards to all walks of people to improve and not only farmers...there are people who are poorer than most farmers in Thailand and needs to consider.
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facts_only
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Discussion 16 : 28 Nov 2012 at 12.1116
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Vietnam shipped 6.46M tons, at $445/ton, profit of $2,875M.
India shipped 6.04M tons, at $525/ton, profit of $3,171M.
Thailand shipped 5.74M tons, at $679/ton, profit of $3,879M.

-From January to October, 2012; Source: Yingluck at censure debate
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spiceman
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Discussion 15 : 28 Nov 2012 at 10.0915
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The science of Economics tells us that there will only be loss in this huge anti-free market scheme, the question is how big is it? And that is something PTP will never reveal to the taxpayers for its own good, but not the good of the country though, thanks to its bone-crushing majority in parliament. This is why Thailand will never progress beyond its current Mob Rule mentality toward a more democratic one.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 14 : 28 Nov 2012 at 08.0414
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Key points here; Rice was bought for 40% more than you can sell it for at today's market price. It's very unrealistic to come out of this without some loss. Economists (who I trust far more than govt spokespersons) estimate that should market forces prevail the loss will be 100 billion a year minimum. They also cite stats to show that only about 15% of the money benefits poor farmers. So, where is all the rest of the money going? And knowing how easy and widespread corruption is here, shouldn't we be weary. Some believable cases were presented in the debate. The govt won't release details of G-2-G deals and wonders why we're so cynical?
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brilliant
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Discussion 13 : 27 Nov 2012 at 22.1313
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genii - "Well if you can break this scheme then you make a lot of voters very very angry."

That's the problem in a nutshell. It was done to garner votes(and put money in a lot of people's pockets).
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Public still kept in the dark about rice deals | Bangkok Post: opinion