Rice scheme: nowhere to go
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Re: Thai rice 'can be No 1', Business, July 12.
Hiroyuki Konuma of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said Thailand could reclaim its No 1 standing for rice exports if it urgently reverts to quality and offering more competitive price quotes for next year’s crop.
However, I don’t think the government is smart or brave enough to rectify the folly of its rice price-pledging scheme at once. Why?
As it is, not only Thai farmers are hooked on the scheme for the easy money of it, but the government is also addicted to its populist policies for continued political support. And both elements seem to be bent on pauperising their country.
As Clyde Russell, market analyst of Reuters, says in his latest column, “Thailand’s rice scheme moves past the ridiculous: Once you’ve gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, where do you go next?”
Vint Chavala
Lamphun
