Thai government stops rice sales temporarily to shore up prices
By Jon Fernquest
From the
very beginning,
the administration of Prime Minister Abhisit was
saddled
with massive rice stocks
accumulated
by previous governments currying
favour
with the rural
electorate.Ever increasing quantities of rice were bought at inflated prices until there were no longer enough warehouses to store the rice in (See archives #1 and #2).
This, in a nutshell, was the unsustainable strategy of the Thaksin-backed Samak and Somchai administrations that preceded Prime Minister Abhisit.
Selling this rice without the Thai government and taxpayers losing a large amount of money is the big problem the current government faces now.
Thailand is such a big exporter of rice that the rice it puts into the world rice market could affect prices in this market.
Vietnam, another major rice exporter, has devalued its exchange rate recently (Read article).
With these conditions currently pushing the price of rice downwards worldwide, the Thai government is taking a "wait and see" attitude towards future rice sales.
Today's article begins after the vocabulary.
shore up - support,
help make strong, prevent weakness (falling prices)
from the very beginning Y - from the very first Y, Y has been the truth or situation from the start (although the public may have forgotten this)
administration - the government of a country
saddled with - be given a big problem that you have to deal with and solve (example: the company was saddled with a huge debt)
massive - in large quantities and amounts
stocks - large amounts of something stored for future use
accumulated - to get more and more of something over a period of time
currying favour - doing things to make people like you
rural - in the countryside, in the farming areas
electorate - all the people who can vote in an election
inflated prices - prices that are too high
warehouses - large buildings for storing goods and commodities such as rice in
in a nutshell - a short summary
unsustainable - an activity that cannot be continued for a long time into the future (because doing it causes problems that require an end to the activity)
strategy - a plan for achieving a goal
X preceded Y - X came before Y
devalue exchange rate - to make the currency of a country less valuable compared to other countries (thus making the exports of that country cheaper)
devaluation (noun) - when a country devalues its exchange rate (to make its goods cheaper and more competitive on international export markets)
"wait and see" attitude - before making a decision "waiting" for a time and "seeing" what will happen first
from the very beginning Y - from the very first Y, Y has been the truth or situation from the start (although the public may have forgotten this)
administration - the government of a country
saddled with - be given a big problem that you have to deal with and solve (example: the company was saddled with a huge debt)
massive - in large quantities and amounts
stocks - large amounts of something stored for future use
accumulated - to get more and more of something over a period of time
currying favour - doing things to make people like you
rural - in the countryside, in the farming areas
electorate - all the people who can vote in an election
inflated prices - prices that are too high
warehouses - large buildings for storing goods and commodities such as rice in
in a nutshell - a short summary
unsustainable - an activity that cannot be continued for a long time into the future (because doing it causes problems that require an end to the activity)
strategy - a plan for achieving a goal
X preceded Y - X came before Y
devalue exchange rate - to make the currency of a country less valuable compared to other countries (thus making the exports of that country cheaper)
devaluation (noun) - when a country devalues its exchange rate (to make its goods cheaper and more competitive on international export markets)
"wait and see" attitude - before making a decision "waiting" for a time and "seeing" what will happen first
Economics
Govt scraps sales of rice stocks
Move made to scotch rumours of huge sell-off2/03/2010
Phusadee Arunmas
The government last week scrapped its second attempt in less than a month to sell rice from its stocks, citing "unacceptably low" bids from exporters.
It also vowed not to sell any rice stocks over the next 3-4 months to curb falling prices, which have weakened since rumours spread that the government would sell up to 2 million tonnes from its rice stocks over the next few months.
scrap, scotch - end
rumour - a story that people are discussing but which may or may not be true ข่าวลือ (See Wikipedia)
sell-off - sell everything (or at least large amounts)
scrapped - ended, cancelled, decided not to continue with something, such as a plan or event ยุติแผนที่วางไว้
citing - mentioning as a reason ให้ อ้างอิงเหตุผล
vowed - say firmly that you will do or not do something
curb - stop or reduce ลดหรือยุติ, ควบคุม, ระงับ
spread - to gradually affect or cover a larger area แพร่หลาย, แพร่กระจาย
rumour - a story that people are discussing but which may or may not be true ข่าวลือ (See Wikipedia)
sell-off - sell everything (or at least large amounts)
scrapped - ended, cancelled, decided not to continue with something, such as a plan or event ยุติแผนที่วางไว้
citing - mentioning as a reason ให้ อ้างอิงเหตุผล
vowed - say firmly that you will do or not do something
curb - stop or reduce ลดหรือยุติ, ควบคุม, ระงับ
spread - to gradually affect or cover a larger area แพร่หลาย, แพร่กระจาย
An industry veteran said there are rumour-mongers who want to batter the rice prices and dismantle the government's price insurance programme for farmers in order to force a return to the previous rice pledging or intervention scheme.
The incumbent government first introduced the crop insurance or options programme for the 2009-10 harvest season to manage key crop prices and guarantee farmers' incomes.
veteran
- a person who has a lot of experience in a particular area or activity
ผู้อาวุโส
rumour-mongers - people who like to create rumours that aren't true in order to cause problems
batter - to make someone or something suffer or seem weak ทำให้พังยับเยิน
dismantle - to take something apart ที่รื้อถอน
insurance - a system of protection against loss, a person pays money every month (premiums) for a guarantee that the company will pay them money if they or their property is damaged or lost (See Wikipedia) การประกันภัย
force - act strongly so that some event that you want happens
rice pledging - the old system of rice farmer subsidies (farmer deposits rice with government, gets loan that he never repays)
intervention - becoming involved in a situation and trying to change it การแทรกแซง
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
options - choices ทางเลือก
harvest - gather in ripe crops เก็บเกี่ยว
key - important คนสำคัญ
guarantee - a promise that something will be done or will happen คำรับรอง, การประกัน (See glossary)
rumour-mongers - people who like to create rumours that aren't true in order to cause problems
batter - to make someone or something suffer or seem weak ทำให้พังยับเยิน
dismantle - to take something apart ที่รื้อถอน
insurance - a system of protection against loss, a person pays money every month (premiums) for a guarantee that the company will pay them money if they or their property is damaged or lost (See Wikipedia) การประกันภัย
force - act strongly so that some event that you want happens
rice pledging - the old system of rice farmer subsidies (farmer deposits rice with government, gets loan that he never repays)
intervention - becoming involved in a situation and trying to change it การแทรกแซง
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
options - choices ทางเลือก
harvest - gather in ripe crops เก็บเกี่ยว
key - important คนสำคัญ
guarantee - a promise that something will be done or will happen คำรับรอง, การประกัน (See glossary)
It replaces a pledging scheme, used by successive governments, which offered high prices and proved to be politically popular in rural communities.
The new price insurance scheme represents income support paid directly to farmers. Payments will be based on the difference between insured prices and benchmark prices, regardless of the market prices farmers receive when they sell their crop.
successive - one
after another, one then another then another..... and so on...
rural - in the countryside (farms, forests), not the city ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
communities - small local groups of people who live near each other and share their lives together
income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน
benchmark - a standard that other things can be compared to and measured by เกณฑ,์ มาตรฐาน, เกณฑ์มาตรฐาน
rural - in the countryside (farms, forests), not the city ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
communities - small local groups of people who live near each other and share their lives together
income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน
benchmark - a standard that other things can be compared to and measured by เกณฑ,์ มาตรฐาน, เกณฑ์มาตรฐาน
The insured prices are based on average production costs and a profit margin of 30% to 40%. The benchmark prices were based on weighted average wholesale prices of rice in Bangkok equivalent to paddy with less than 15% moisture content.
The benchmark price will be set on the first and sixteenth days of each month.
average - the
ordinary level or measurement, in the middle of a group เฉลี่ย
weighted average - some numbers or measurements used to make the average are more important (more heavily weighted) than others
profit, profit margin - money that you make from selling goods and services after all your costs have been paid กำไร
wholesale - relating to the business of selling large quantities of goods, especially to people who are going to sell them in a shop ขายส่ง
equivalent - the same as เท่าเทียมกันกับ
paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก
moisture - water in the air or inside a substance (like rice)
moisture content of rice - how much water there is in rice being stored
weighted average - some numbers or measurements used to make the average are more important (more heavily weighted) than others
profit, profit margin - money that you make from selling goods and services after all your costs have been paid กำไร
wholesale - relating to the business of selling large quantities of goods, especially to people who are going to sell them in a shop ขายส่ง
equivalent - the same as เท่าเทียมกันกับ
paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก
moisture - water in the air or inside a substance (like rice)
moisture content of rice - how much water there is in rice being stored
The programme is designed to benefit all farmers, particularly small-scale farmers. Compensation will be transferred directly to farmers by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operative (BAAC). Farmers will manage their own sales decisions in terms of when to capitalise on the spread between the insured price and the benchmark price.
Such rumours are possibly set up collaboratively by traders, millers and politicians who want to foil the government's crop insurance plan and force it to turn back to traditional intervention programme," said Nipon Wongtrangan, honorary president of Thai Rice Millers Association and ex-president of Thai rice Millers Association.
benefit
- to get help or advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
scale - size (relative size)
transferred - moved, changed someone's job or responsibilities โยกย้ายตำแหน่ง
X in terms of Y - doing X using Y
capitalise on - make a profit from, make money from
spread between price X and price Y - the difference between price X and price y
capitalise on the spread between the insured price and the benchmark price - make a profit from the difference between two prices (buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price)
foil - prevent people from doing something bad
traders - people whose business is buying and selling things
collaboratively - people working together to achieve shared goals
traditional - following the old and established ways of doing things
scale - size (relative size)
transferred - moved, changed someone's job or responsibilities โยกย้ายตำแหน่ง
X in terms of Y - doing X using Y
capitalise on - make a profit from, make money from
spread between price X and price Y - the difference between price X and price y
capitalise on the spread between the insured price and the benchmark price - make a profit from the difference between two prices (buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price)
foil - prevent people from doing something bad
traders - people whose business is buying and selling things
collaboratively - people working together to achieve shared goals
traditional - following the old and established ways of doing things
As we saw in the previous week, the prices of local paddy has significantly reduced to as low as 6,000 baht per tonne in certain areas, opening room for certain groups of millers to buy local grain at cheaper prices.
Once the prices fell, a group of farmers immediately staged a rally that was well equipped with loudspeakers and amplifiers. The farmers' rally seemed to be too well-organised.
local
- in the small area that you live in ท้องถิ่น
significantly - in an important way อย่างสำคัญ
grain - the seed from cereal crops such as rice, wheat, or corn เมล็ดพืช
immediately - happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
staged - carry out or do some large event (that needs a lot of planning and organisation)
rally - a large public gathering of people to support someone or to protest against something การชุมนุม
loudspeakers - a device that converts electrical signals into sounds loud enough to be heard at a distance (See Wikipedia)
amplifiers - an electronic device that increases the strength of a weak electronic signal, used to make music or sound coming out of loudspeaker louder (See Wikipedia)
significantly - in an important way อย่างสำคัญ
grain - the seed from cereal crops such as rice, wheat, or corn เมล็ดพืช
immediately - happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
staged - carry out or do some large event (that needs a lot of planning and organisation)
rally - a large public gathering of people to support someone or to protest against something การชุมนุม
loudspeakers - a device that converts electrical signals into sounds loud enough to be heard at a distance (See Wikipedia)
amplifiers - an electronic device that increases the strength of a weak electronic signal, used to make music or sound coming out of loudspeaker louder (See Wikipedia)
Mr Nipon said the farmers protested even though they were fully aware that the government offers them 9,000 to 10,000 baht per tonne of paddy under the crop insurance programme.
Mr Nipon said declining prices also benefit investors in the futures market, as they could buy the futures cheaply and profit once the prices rose.
aware
- knowing that something exists, or having knowledge or experience of a
particular thing ทราบ
fully aware - knowing and completely accepting that something exists (not still evaluating or debating whether it exists)
futures - a contract to buy something in the future, a contract that is traded on a public exchange, so the price reflects current expectations about the value of the underlying asset (See Economist Glossary on derivatives) การซื้อขายล่วงหน้า
fully aware - knowing and completely accepting that something exists (not still evaluating or debating whether it exists)
futures - a contract to buy something in the future, a contract that is traded on a public exchange, so the price reflects current expectations about the value of the underlying asset (See Economist Glossary on derivatives) การซื้อขายล่วงหน้า
We believe the rice prices will gradually increase after the market realises the rumours are not true," said Mr Nipon. "The National Rice Policy Committee has insisted the government would not sell 500,000 tonnes from its rice stocks to curb supply.
Rice prices are unlikely to be on a par with last month, when milled rice fetched 16,000 to 17,000 baht per tonne, as the market realised second-crop harvests from Thailand, Vietnam and India would come out during March.
Milled rice is currently quoted at about 15,000 baht per tonne.
Mr Nipon predicted rice prices would rise from the middle of the year, as El Nino is expected to cause dry spells and cut crop output.
insisted
- say firmly that something must happen or is true, and will not change
mind
realised - achieved ทำให้เป็นจริง
quoted, quoted price - a price for goods that a seller tells possible buyers
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
dry spells - periods of very dry weather when there is no rain
realised - achieved ทำให้เป็นจริง
quoted, quoted price - a price for goods that a seller tells possible buyers
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
dry spells - periods of very dry weather when there is no rain
(Source: Govt scraps sales of rice stocks, Move made to scotch rumours of huge sell-off, 2/03/2010, Phusadee Arunmas, link)
