Meeting to outline clear practices

Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol said yesterday that most rice millers wanted to join the government project. However,

they want to learn more about the government's conditions to ensure transparency.

Charnchai Ratthananon, president of the association, said the government should announce clear practices to ensure transparency in every process of the pledging programme.

The ministry also plans to provide more bags of cheap rice at Bt120-Bt130 per pack as it is forecast that the pledging scheme will push up domestic rice prices.

However, the retail price of Bt110 for a 5-kilogram bag of white rice will be raised. The rice bags will be managed by the ministry's marketing arm, the Public Warehouse Organisation.

Poom said the policy was open to anyone in the private sector who could produce at the fixed price.

"We will try to distribute as much of this cheap rice as we can to allow people to access the products to curb inflation," Poom said.

It has been estimated that the pledging policy will increase the price people pay for rice by more than Bt8 per day on average. On the other hand, the higher cost will support 20 million farmers.

However, the ministry will not interfere in the jasmine-rice market but will let market mechanisms function in that premium segment.

Previously, the Thai Rice Packers Association had commented that the government policy would increase its members' costs, particularly for jasmine rice, rising by 25 per cent and driving up the price of a 5kg bag by Bt40. In addition, the white-rice cost will surge 40-50 per cent, or Bt20-Bt30 per bag, it claimed.