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Published on October 24, 2007

It called on the government to immediately institute price controls and re-introduce the rice deposit policy.

Charn Homklin, of Suphan Buri's Thai Farmer Association, said the price of rice had dropped to Bt4,700 per tonne, compared to Bt6,000 per tonne at the last harvest season.

"Farmers in the vast area of Central Thailand are now harvesting their rice and being forced by middle men to sell it at this incredibly low price. This is happening because we are experiencing a policy vacuum," he said.

Charn was referring to the government's rice deposit policy, which was in place for years as a safety net for farmers to sell their produce at a guaranteed price. But the policy has been temporarily halted during the reign of the current government.

"[This has allowed] middle men to suppress the price of rice while large amounts of rice are harvested, and now most farmers, in practical terms, have no personal rice like in the past," Charn said.

"As the rainy season has not completely ended yet, the quality of the rice has been reduced because of the high humidity."

Charn called on the government to implement a rice deposit policy in the area as soon as possible to solve the problem.

Rice deposit measures should be reintroduced at the right period of harvesting, he said, and the deposit sites should be clearly declared in each zone.

To stop middle men suppressing the rice price, he said, the National Rice Committee should let a team of inspectors control the price of rice in Suphan Buri and nearby areas.

"Do not allow this farmer-helping policy to become a farmer-killing policy by implementing it in a way that allows middle men and local politicians to take advantage of the implementation," Charn added.

 The Nation