Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom will propose lowering the ceiling price of the government's rice pledging scheme to 10,000 baht per tonne at a National Rice Policy Committee meeting on Thursday.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom will be forced to explain his recent rice decisions to the Pheu Thai Party on Tuesday.

Mr Boonsong said Sunday the lower ceiling price was suggested by the Thai Farmers Association.

He said he would put forward their proposal to the committee, which is chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

"If the committee agrees to lower the ceiling price, the new criteria would be applied in the next crop year," he said, adding the committee would have the final say if any losses incurred from the scheme are to be disclosed.

Earlier, Prasit Booncheuy, the association's president, said a price of 10,000 baht per tonne, down from 15,000 baht a tonne, was acceptable.

"Most farmers are willing to accept the lower price. Even though the government offers 15,000-20,000 baht per tonne, the farmers don't get paid fully anyway because of corruption," he said.

Mr Boonsong said he would gear up the scheme's public relations activities.

Meanwhile, the Pheu Thai Party will summon Mr Boonsong and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong to its headquarters Tuesday to clarify the scheme.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said the ministers are expected to explain the government's handling of the scheme and answer questions from the party MPs.

Mr Prompong said that while the data about the rice scheme was incomplete, the estimated losses of 260 billion baht claimed by the Democrat Party and government critics were exaggerated.</p>

"The 260 billion baht figure came from a questionable source. It came from reports that hadn't been examined and verified," he said

At a press conference last week, Mr Boonsong failed to provide details of the scheme's losses which the Democrats claimed had exceeded 200 billion baht.

In defence of the government scheme, Mr Prompong said the rice-pledging was better than the Democrats' price guarantee policy.

He said the Democrats' initiative had incurred losses of 130 billion baht, not 60 billion baht as claimed.

Mr Prompong said he would submit further evidence to the Department of Special Investigation today to back an earlier petition for a probe into alleged irregularities in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government's crop price guarantee scheme.

Democrat MP Ong-art Khlampaiboon yesterday called on Ms Yingluck to get to the bottom of the problems plaguing the current scheme.

As the chairwoman of the National Rice Policy Committee, Ms Yingluck could not afford to stay aloof, he said.

"The prime minister should make a bold move and tell the public the truth. It is not just the government that is affected. There are farmers and rice exporters too," he said

Source: Bangkok Post