The Commerce Minister orders an investigation into the rice-purchase scheme after receiving complaints from farmers that the quota has been reached too quickly.

Commerce Minister Pornthiwa Nakasai said she was surprised by reports that the rice-purchase quota had been reached so quickly in certain provinces.

The National Rice Policy Committee just announced an increase in the quota from 2 million to 4 million tons last Friday.

Suspicious of possible corruption, Pornthiwa said she has ordered the Department of Internal Trade and the Public Warehouse Organization to inspect the rice scheme in the provinces where such complaints originated.

Some rice traders observed that old rice could have been put into the buy-back process again before farmers were able to sell their new rice.

Pornthiwa played down suggestions by the Thai Farmers Association that the scheme should be scrapped, arguing that the program is feasible and proven useful by a number of studies.

Meanwhile, president of the Thai Rice Exporters' Association, Chukiat Opaswong, said domestic and foreign rice traders are delaying purchases because of uncertainty in the government's rice policies, fluctuating exchange rates and the stronger baht.

Regarding the distribution of rice in the government's stock worth 2 million baht, the Commerce Ministry is still deciding whether it will sell the rice to 17 winning bidders.

Source: TANN