Group seeks rise in pledging price for jasmine rice
The Thai Rice Growing Association has urged the Commerce Ministry to increase the pledging price for jasmine rice by 50 per cent to offset a 40-per-cent rise in production costs due to escalating oil prices.
Preecha Laohapongchana, caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister, said the ministry is considering the proposal, but has yet to decide on the extent of the price hike.The ministry is willing to increase the price to help farmers, but wants to avoid raising it so high that exporters will be harmed, he said. Suwan Kathawuth, president of the Thai Rice Growing Association, yesterday said the body had proposed that the Rice Policy Committee increase the pledging price on new crops that are to enter the market in November. Under the proposal, the government would increase the price for jasmine rice from Bt10,000 to Bt15,000 per tonne, and on white rice from Bt7,000 to about Bt10,000 per tonne. Rice farmers said the price of fertiliser had risen from Bt10,000 to Bt13,000-Bt14,000 per tonne. Other costs have also increased, including tractor-leasing charges, which have gone from Bt400 per rai to Bt500, and the insecticide price, which has risen from Bt30 to Bt50 per kilogram. The Rice Policy Committee will make a decision on the proposal next week. "The rising oil price has increased our production costs by 35-40 per cent. The government should either increase the pledging price or support us by helping to decrease production costs," Suwan said. However, Chookiat Opasphawongse, president of the Rice Exporters Association, urged the government not to increase the pledging price, saying it would hurt Thailand's export competitiveness. To the contrary, the price gap with other countries' rice - particularly Vietnam's - must be narrowed to strengthen the Kingdom's competitiveness, he said. Otherwise, buyers will turn to Vietnamese jasmine rice instead of the Thai product, he said. Currently, Vietnamese jasmine rice costs US$400 (Bt14,900) per tonne, while Thai jasmine rice sells for $540 per tonne. If the pledging price for Thai jasmine increased from Bt10,000 to Bt12,000 per tonne, Chookiat said, the selling price would hit $600. "The price difference would put a big dent in Thai exporters' competitiveness," he said. Chookiat urged the government to draw up a plan that reflects real production costs instead of shoring up the price through an intervention programme. "The government should concentrate on sustainable farm development by focusing on training and knowledge to increase yields, as well as supplying low-cost fertiliser and diesel oil," he said. Petchanet Pratruangkrai, The Nation
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