Some Blacklisted rice millers given chance

The move will cost the ministry about Bt1.4 billion in income from a fine levied on those millers for breaking their con¬tracts.

Rice millers had urged the ministry to relax its fine and pave the way for the millers to attend the ricepledging pro¬gramme.

They complained that the ministry had set too high interest rates and as a result the rice millers could not pay the fine. Chaiya said the ministry did not want to favour any rice millers, but only ensure there would be enough millers to attend the upcoming ricepledging programme as more rice will enter the government's stockpiles.

"The ministry will consider whether each miller should be taken off the black¬list. Legal action against some millers may be withdrawn if they are not in serious breach of any regulation. However, the ministry will proceed with legal action against those who have committed serious violations and they will remain on the blacklist," Chaiya said.

Blacklisted rice millers face a perday interest of 0.02 per cent or 72 per cent a year for breaking a rice contract with the ministry. Vattana Rattanawong, president of the Thai Rice millers Association, said that blacklisted rice millers wanted the ministry to relax the fine regulation as millers have faced a higher financial bur¬den from the increasing rice price.

In addition, he asked the ministry to allow rice millers to participate in the gov¬ernmenttogovernment rice contracts as a way of creating more trading channels for millers besides only large rice exporters.

Thailand yesterday agreed to sign a con¬tract with Timor for selling 120,000 tonnes 15percent regular white rice, of which 30,000 will be sent under the government operation. The rest will be allocated to other rice traders.