The National Rice Policy Committee is to eliminate government losses from the sale of rice at low prices for special purposes , adding up to about BT7 billion since 2011.
After the committee meeting yesterday , the Minister of Trade Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan rice have been sold below market prices to help ease the cost of living and Thais are given as humanitarian aid to countries devastated by disasters .
That money should be deducted from the total losses for the project promises , said Niwatthumrong , also a minister deputy minister . The plan will be offered to the Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance for recognition soon .
However , the committee has not yet completed its estimate of the total losses for the - promised rice program during the last two years . Expenditure on the scheme has run at about Bt330 billion per year on average .
If that any agency or person calculating the loss, they should demonstrate to the public as the government could more clearly explain the cost , he said.
The Deputy Minister of Trade Yanyong Phuangrach The government did not liquidity to make payments to farmers because it sells rice at prices well below market . Losses of special purpose should not be counted .
The National Rice Policy Committee requires a budget of BT6 billion to be distributed to rice farmers who have not received payment yet promising in 2012-13 because of exceeding the limit of 22 million tons is expected from the government .
This is equivalent to about 450,000 tons .
Farmers should not worry , as they should be within a few days , said Yanyong .
The committee also asked for BT3 another billion to pay farmers who missed the deadline of September 15 for a promise from the rice crop season 2012-13 . This will pay farmers harvesting their rice late, from September 16 to 30
Yesterday Former finance minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula business ethics forum held by the Thai Chamber of Commerce promised that the scheme is an expensive program that did not make a serious improvement to distribute income to farmers . Based on figures for the 2012-13 program , the government suffered a loss of about Bt205 billion and only T80 billion went to farmers .
He said Cramon Sutivong , chairman of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand , at the same event that a seminar on - promised rice scheme will be held next Tuesday , focusing on graft involved in the project .
" In the past , we warned the government about the dangers of pollution , " he said.
