BANGKOK, 17 December 2013 The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has proposed that a new government issue a law requiring warehouse owners to burn rotten pledged rice found in their silos, in order to prevent corruption in the scheme. The TDRI also pointed out the upcoming government can discard the rice pledging program, but the process must be done gradually, otherwise rice prices would drop sharply.
Mr. Nipon Puapongsakorn, a TDRI honorary member, made the comments at a recent seminar on ‘Future of Thai rice in the Global Arena’, organized by the Thai Rice Foundation under the Royal Patronage.
He stated that the new government needs to urgently examine the amount of stockpiled rice, saying without the exact figure of rice in store, the country would have to unnecessarily spend higher amount of money on maintenance and face depressed prices for the whole stock. He also said that the lack of reliable pledged rice inspections would likely attract corruption.
Thus, he advised the government to check the stockpiled rice both in lists and in silos, to ensure the accuracy of the data which would be used to formulate an efficient rice clearance plan.
