BANGKOK, 19 October 2011 – The Ministry of Commerce has indicated the possibility of a rice shortage in Thailand later this year as over 10 million rai of paddy fields have been destroyed by floods, incurring a loss of up to 6 million tons of rice.
After convening with the subcommittee overseeing the Government’s rice mortgage scheme, Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Phuangrach disclosed that the flood crisis was estimated to cost the country more than 10 million rai of rice fields as well as around 5-6 million tons of rice.
Up to 35 rice warehouses and mills have been devastated by the disaster; eight of them are located within the central region while twenty are participating in the rice pledging program. The overall destruction is expected to cause a decrease in rice yield at the end of this year and could also bring about a supply shortage.
Thus far, 115,000 tons of rice has been entered into the mortgaging program while 231 member rice mills have begun their operations.
Despite the flood problem, Mr Yanyong confirmed that the Government would proceed with the rice pledging scheme since many rice-growing areas had not been affected by the catastrophe.
