From: kamol@ipied.tu.ac.TH (Kamol Hengkietisak)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Bangkok Post Jan 9: Boonchu sees Govt rice policy working
Date: 10 Jan 1993 22:52:52 +1100
Organization: Mail/News gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: munnari.oz.au

 
DEPUTY Prime Minister Boonchu Rojanasatien is confident that 
government measures to shore up paddy prices will start bearing 
fruit in a week.
 
Defending the Government's paddy mortgage scheme, Mr Boonchu said 
yesterday that the scheme would help prevent farmers being taken 
advantage of by merchants early in the harvest season.
 
He said the Government would instruct state agencies concerned to 
speed up buying paddy from farmers and will order the Bank for 
Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to quicken its work in 
accepting paddy mortgaged by the farmers.
 
But Mr Boonchu noted that responsible ministers must closely 
follow the progress of all government schemes to shore up paddy 
prices in order to enhance their effectiveness.
 
If all concerned seriously follow up the measures, they should 
start bearing fruit in a week, he said.
 
Deputy government spokesman Thamrong Thaimongkol also expressed 
confidence yesterday that the measures would help solve the 
problem of falling paddy prices before the Opposition could go 
ahead with its plan to censure the coalition Government in the 
next parliamentary session.
 
Mr Thamrong (Social Action Party) added that the Opposition had 
the right to raise any issue to attack the Government, but the 
latter was confident all the measures it had introduced would 
yield results soon.
 
Meanwhile, Interior Ministry sources who were monitoring farmers' 
movements in the provinces said that until yesterday there had 
been no reports of any group of farmers planning to come to 
Bangkok to protest against the paddy price plunge.
 
However, there have been news reports that farmers, assisted by 
the Opposition, may travel to Bangkok today to air their 
grievances.
 
The Chart Thai Party has called an urgent meeting of its MPs and 
other party members next Tuesday to prepare for a countrywide tour 
to "explain" to farmers about the current paddy price plunge and 
how to tackle the problem.
 
Chart Thai secretary-general Banharn Silpa-archa met with key 
party MPs yesterday and agreed on the move described by coalition 
MPs as a clear attempt to mobilise farmers nationwide to protest 
against the Government.
 
Mr Banharn said he called yesterday's meeting because paddy prices 
had been falling while the Government appeared unable to correct 
the situation in time.
 
Deputy party secretary-general Prapat Phosuthon said Chart Thai 
had given the Chuan Leekpai Government ample time to prove its 
ability to work, but the Government could neither solve the paddy 
problem nor meet farmers' needs.
 
He said the situation had reached the point where the Chart Thai 
could no longer stand aside and watch, and had to call an urgent 
meeting on Tuesday to discuss the problem.
 
Mr Prapat said the purpose of Tuesday's meeting was to gather 
information on the paddy price problem, to prepare explanations 
for farmers about the situation, and to work out measures to 
tackle it.
 
He added that Chart Thai had been in many coalition governments 
before and had many "proven measures" to solve this problem.
 
Opposition parties are scheduled to have a discussion over dinner 
at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on Tuesday evening 
on the topic of "What have we gained from the Government?"
 
Deputy Prime Ministers Amnuay Viravan and Supachai Panichapak 
assured yesterday the Government is speedily releasing rice into 
the world market to help increase the low domestic rice price.
 
Returning from a tour to Malaysia along with the Prime Minister, 
Mr Amnuay confirmed the Government has been hurrying to release 
stocks of rice into the world market to boost up the prices in the 
local market.
 
But the deputy premier said the rice price problem will take time 
to be solved. In the meantime, the Finance and Commerce ministries 
are taking various measures to support the fast flow of rice 
exports, Mr Amnuay said.
 
The deputyK  Y[ZY9 under the New Aspiration Party quota said the 
export rice prices should be in line with the world market prices 
and asked private exporters to speed up the exports since the 
Government alone cannot export all the stocks available currently.
 
Touching on rice exports to Russia which has only bought on 
credit, not cash, Mr Amnuay said talks will be held between the 
two countries over terms and conditions of future deliveries.
 
Mr Amnuay dismissed remarks by Deputy Prime Minister Boonchu 
Rojanastien the Government measures on rice exports have been 
taken "belatedly" and contended nothing is too late but it needs 
to take time.
 
Mr Supachai also confirmed the problem of the Russian rice market 
will take some time to solve.
 
The deputy premier under the Democrat Party quota said the 
Government cannot simply buy rice from farmers all over the 
country because the Government will not have so much money to do 
it.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai