Uncertainty dogs rice

The rice pledging, scheduled to be held from October 16 to November 1, may have to be postponed. Under the intervention programme, the farmers will receive guaranteed price of Bt14,000 a tonne for a total of 8 million tonnes.

Commerce Minister Chaiya Sasomsap said the ministry would try to convince the Cabinet to maintain the guaranteed price, or else it would lose billions of baht, because it must take the previous pledging programme for the second crop into account.

"If the government lowers the price to Bt13,000 a tonne for the main crop, the government will lose about Bt2 billion from the decrease in the value of rice in its stockpiles," he said.

Thai Rice Millers Association president Vattana Rattanawong said the government's high guaranteed price would not help push up the price, which had decreased continuously following lower demand in the market.

"So far, the price of 5-per-cent white rice has plunged to Bt11,000 a tonne. The government's announcement to release its huge rice stockpiles also accelerated the fall in price, as importers are expecting a further drop," he said.

Thai Rice Growers Association president Prasit Boonchuey said the government must maintain its guaranteed price at Bt14,000, because production costs had increased sharply to more than Bt7,070 a tonne.

"Farmers with a plantation area of less than 20 rai will be the first to be hit, because they produce lower rice quantities, while the rental costs of land has doubled in the past year," he said.