PWO faces suits over bt1-bn debt

The state-owned Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) is at risk of being sued by millers, surveyors, warehouse-owners and insurance companies owed a combined debt of Bt1.02 billion.

The PWO compiled the debt while participating in the government's price-intervention programmes. Relevant government agencies in the schemes have not subsidised it.

For instance, the PWO serves as the marketing arm for rice price-intervention measures approved by the National Rice Policy and the Farmers Assistance Committee. However, the Finance Ministry has not provided the PWO with financial support to facilitate the rice-pledging scheme, which requires billions of baht, since 2005.

The debt will create difficulties for the organisation in handling the new pledging scheme scheduled to start early next month, a  PWO source said.

A lack of credit with the PWO may result in low numbers of millers participating in the project, which would create problems, as the government has insufficient space to stock rice for the project.

The government has targeted 8 million tonnes of paddy rice pledged through its price-subsidy measure, but old stockpiles are taking up too much space. "Those creditors have threatened to file a case with the Civil Court soon. The government must accelerate budget approval in order to ensure that we continue operate these pledging projects efficiently," said the source.

The PWO is the marketing arm of the Commerce Ministry, which is responsible for agricultural trading and pledging projects.