Thailand falls to third place as a rice exporter
After nearly 50 years as the world's largest rice exporter, Thailand has dropped to third place this year. India takes over the top spot and Vietnam is a close second.
News from Thailand – July 22, 2012
True or False? The Thai contractor says an access road has only been built to where the controversial Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River in Laos is to be built and the Laotian government says planning has been suspended until the other Mekong countries agree.
Two ominous articles about rice
The rice mortgage system that has been used by the current government needs to be overhauled, the Bangkok Post writes in its July 19 editorial. Thailand is pricing itself out of the market with the system because the price the government pays for the purchased rice is 40 percent above the market price.
News from Thailand – July 18, 2012
The fight against the further spread of foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Thailand is being tackled rigorously. The office of the Private Education Commission is even proposing to temporarily close kindergartens and Prathom 1 and 2 classes. Command centers are set up at the provincial level when the number of new cases per day exceeds 10.
There is plenty of fraud with rice
It has been established before: the government's reintroduced rice mortgage system is highly prone to corruption. And not only that: it distorts the market and costs the taxpayer a lot of money.
Rice program suffers from corruption
It could have been so beautiful. Farmers get 20.000 baht for a ton of Hom Mali (jasmine rice), 17.000 baht for other fragrant rice and 15.000 baht for white rice. They would finally earn a reasonable income, the current governing party Pheu Thai had promised them during the election campaign.
Thai rice trade is in great danger
It has been repeatedly warned: Thailand is pricing itself out of the market with the rice mortgage system reintroduced by the Yingluck government. The program ruins both the domestic and foreign markets and creates a huge and unnecessary burden of debt for the government.