Thai government to export 400,000 tonnes of rice in Q4

BANGKOK, October 14 (TNA) - Commerce Minister BoonsongTeriyapirom says that Thailand will export 300,000-400,000 tonnes of rice under government-to-government deals during the rest of 2012. In an attempt to allay fears over the Thai government’s rice-pledging scheme, Boonsong told the public during the weekly broadcast programme of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Satruday that the figures were recently estimated by his ministry’s Department of Foreign Trade. Reiterating that the Thai government's rice pledging scheme benefits local farmers by raising their standards of living, Boonsong claimed that local farmers were previously unable to sell their produce at more than 10,000 baht per tonne; while their debts have kept on rising. According to the minister, Thai rice farmers can now settle their debts and still have enough money for saving, thanks to the incumbent government's rice pledging scheme. Several academics and the major opposition Democrat Party have charged that the Thai government–sponsored rice-pledging scheme distort the market mechanism. (TNA)