BANGKOK, Sept 30 – Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan today rejected a report that the government lost Bt400 billion from its rice pledging scheme in the last two years.
He said the loss could be slightly over Bt80 billion per year as allowed in the subsidy framework, based on its Bt640 billion spending in two years.
The Finance Ministry will be paid more than Bt200 billion by the year end while rice in the state stockpiles, currently at 10 million tonnes, would be reduced by half, due to releases.
The government will soon conclude delivery of 1.2 million tonnes of rice to China as agreed during the prime minister’s recent visit there, he said.
Mr Niwatthamrong said related agencies are ready for the new round of rice purchase for the 2013/2014 harvest season, starting tomorrow, October 1.
He said the Commerce Ministry has been trying to release rice in every possible way and to return revenue from rice sales to the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
The ministry has so far paid Bt160 billion to the BAAC and another Bt200 billion payment should be made by year-end, he said.
Regarding complaints from some southern rice farmers that they could not join the rice subsidy scheme, the commerce minister said the BAAC was instructed to look into the issue and said the National Rice Committee recently approved budget to buy rice from southern farmers who applied to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to join the programme.
