Thailand takes measures to combat soaring rice prices
By Jon Fernquest |
An article in this morning's Bangkok Post provides the latest developments in the Thai rice market.
Rice from government warehouses will be available from next month priced at cost "with the focus mainly on low-income earners," according to a new Commerce Ministry plan.
Thailand is not the only country taking steps to combat soaring rice prices and ensure an affordable domestic rice supply.
Neighboring Cambodia which exports a lot less rice than Thailand (450,000 tonnes compared to Thailand's 8.5 million tonnes) today completely banned rice exports to Thailand and Vietnam for two months to ensure food security and is setting up checkpoints at border crossings to enforce the ban. (See International Herald Tribune)
The check on government rice warehouses by Commerce Minister Minkwang has revealed that only a very small fraction of the rice stored in government warehouses has gone missing:
"The rice stockpile stands at 2.109 million tonnes. The rice stock in the government's central storehouses totaling 1.964 million tonnes was reported intact, but of the remaining 145,000 tonnes which was placed with milled rice, about 13,000 tonnes was found to be missing, as rice mill owners had taken it to sell at higher prices."
Here is the article in full:
AGRICULTURE
Govt setting aside cheaper rice for public
One million tonnes to be sold at cost pricePHUSADEE ARUNMASM
Thursday March 27, 2008
The government will set aside a portion of the state's 2.1-million-tonne rice stockpile to sell at cost price to help ease the burden placed on consumers caused by soaring rice prices. Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan said about 10% of domestic rice consumption, which currently stands at 9-10 million tonnes a year, would be sold in five-kilogramme packs.
They would be available next month and priced at cost. The project will be handled by the state-owned Public Warehouse Organisation, the Internal Trade Department and provincial commerce offices across the country with the focus mainly on low-income earners.
Mr Mingkwan, who is also deputy prime minister, said the government saw no need to rush into auctioning rice from the government stockpile.
The rice stockpile stands at 2.109 million tonnes. The rice stock in the government's central storehouses totaling 1.964 million tonnes was reported intact, but of the remaining 145,000 tonnes which was placed with milled rice, about 13,000 tonnes was found to be missing, as rice mill owners had taken it to sell at higher prices.
The minister pledged to take action against smugglers and ban them from participating in any future rice projects.
To make the most of high rice prices overseas, the ministry also wants to sell the second crop of about six million tonnes of paddy, or about 4.2 million tonnes of white rice, for export.
International rice prices have risen recently due to inadequate supplies to meet global demand. Drought in Indonesia and the Philippines coupled with crop diseases in Vietnam and delayed exports from India have pushed prices up, with import demands from China growing annually.
"Rice prices have hit a 100-year high, which is good for Thai farmers," he said. "But to protect local consumers from high prices, the ministry will allocate some of its stockpile to sell to the market at an affordable price."
The minister urged farmers not to rush into selling, as the rice price is expected to rise further.
The government is also preparing additional measures to cut production costs including steps to curb fertiliser hoarding by manufacturers.
Paddy rice yesterday fetched 11,800 to 12,000 baht per tonne, up from 6,450 baht a tonne in the same month of last year, according to the Internal Trade Department.
Director-general of the Internal Trade Department Yanyong Phuangrach said the packed rice plan was unlikely to affect local rice packers, as the government has about 2.1 million tonnes in its stockpile, and the private sector has rice stocks on hand of another 2.1 million tonnes.
Thailand is projected to export 8.75 million tonnes of rice this year.
(Source: Bangkok Post, general news, page 2, Phusadee Arunmas, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
the latest developments - recent events that are likely to have an effect on the current situation
taking steps to Z - acting to achieve goal Z
combat Y - try to stop Y from happening
ban Z (verb) - prohibit X, stating officially that Z must not be done
a ban on Z (noun) - the act of prohibiting Z
food security - when a government takes action to ensure that everyone in the country has enough to eat and does not suffer from either starvation or malnutrition (See Wikipedia on food security)
checkpoints - places where the police check to make sure laws are being followed
border crossings - places where a road enters another country
set aside X for Y - keep X for a future special use Y
stockpile - large quantities stored for future use (See glossary)
sell at cost price - the price is set at the cost of production so there is no profit
priced at cost - same as "sell at cost price"
a burden - a responsibility difficult to fulfill, a problem difficult to solve
ease the burden - help make the problem easier to solve
soaring rice prices - the price of rice have risen suddenly and quickly
Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) - the Thai government agency in charge of storing rice that farmers have pledged to the government under the rice mortgage scheme
rush - do quickly
rush into Y - act too quickly on Y
saw no need to rush into Y - did not feel the need to act quickly on Y
auctioning - using competitive public bidding to sell something (See Wikipedia on auction)
milled rice - rice processed, packaged, and prepared for sale in stores
paddy - rice in the husk, either gathered or uncut and still in the field
pledged - promised
smugglers - people who take things into or out of a country secretly and illegally
pledged to take action against smugglers - promised to enforce laws on smuggling
drought - a long period without rain causing a shortage of water in a region (See Wikipedia)
X coupled with Y - factor X combined with factor Y
allocate X to Y - use X for purpose Y (See glossary)
X urged to do Y - tried hard to convince X to do Y
curb - end or limit (See glossary)
fertiliser - chemcials given to plants to help them grow (See Wikipedia)
hoarding - secretly storing large quantities of scarce things (See glossary)
curb fertiliser hoarding - end or at least limit the secret storage of fertiliser
projected to Y - Y is expected to happen in the future
