50,000 tonnes of sticky rice found stored

Now that a nationwide inspection of granaries was completed on August 27, inspectors will study the data in hand to decide whether the price of sticky rice is rising due to hoarding, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said. 

As of 2pm on August 27, reports from 280 warehouse owners showed that they had in store a total of 50,000 tonnes of sticky rice. Jurin ordered the inspection in response to the rapidly rising price of sticky rice, which also saw a smuggler being arrested trying to smuggle 30 tonnes of the grain into Thailand from Cambodia last week. 

Jurin set the deadline for reports at 4.30pm on August 27, and those failing to report in time will face a thorough inspection to see if they can be considered as hoarders. 

Reports had been sent in by owners of storage facilities in 41 provinces. So far, no details are available about how many people have been storing sticky rice grains across the nation.