BANGKOK, 17 July 2013 The Thai Chamber of Commerce has suggested the government to cancel the rice pledging scheme and let the market mechanism work, believing it will be more beneficial to the overall rice trade.
Commenting on the Commerce Ministry’s plan to use computer chips to check the status of rice in the government’s stock, Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Issara Wongkusolkit said there was no need to do so. He pointed out that the method would not help prevent corruption as there was a large quantity of rice under the rice pledging scheme.
Mr Issara suggested the government to urgently distribute the rice in its warehouses and allow the private sector to operate the scheme. He concluded that the scheme was unnecessary, saying he believed the rice price would return to normal without it.
