THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Rice panel to be asked to solve problems that traders face

Rice panel to be asked to solve problems that traders face

The Foreign Trade Department will this week propose to the Rice Policy and Management Committee that it set up a working panel to solve problems related to rice selling, after receiving about 200 complaints from traders.

Duangporn Rodphaya, the department director-general, said rice traders who had joined the Commerce Ministry’s bidding had many complaints about rice being removed from stockpiles and payment.

To increase efficiency in selling rice |from the government’s stock, the work-|ing committee should be able to solve |problems raised by rice traders, Duangporn said.

The Rice Policy and Management Committee, led by the prime minister, consists of representatives from all involved sectors, including government officials, private traders, and farmers. By synergising their work, the rice committee should be able to solve problems in the short term and and prevent them in the future.

Among complaints filed with the department and the Thai Rice Exporters Association are delays in the return of the 5 per cent guarantee to traders who joined rice bidding, delay in the shipment of rice from the government’s stocks, and the quality of rice not meeting standards displayed on bidding day.

Duangporn said that some problems, which have been recurring for long, have never been resolved. The department will gather all complaints and ask the rice working committee to tackle them soon.

Kittipong Payapwattanawong, owner of Srikrung Rice Mill Lat Krabang, one of the winners in the first rice bidding this year, said the company had won its bid for 3,000 tonnes of rice at Bt7,610 a tonne. However, after the company signed a contract with the Public Warehouse Organisation, it found the quality did not meet the standard displayed on bidding day.

The firm has filed a complaint with the department and sought an inquiry into the case. The firm has not yet cancelled the contract, but may seek a change in the price offered to the ministry, he said.

nationthailand