Thai Exporter Criticizes Government Plan to Bolster Rice Prices.

Oct. 3--The government's plan to take 44.7 billion baht from its 58-billion-baht economic stimulus plan to prop up rice prices has drawn fire from the country's largest rice exporter.

The huge sum devoted to purchasing paddy from the next main crop would be wasted, and the money might not reach farmers' hands, said Vorapong Pichpongsa, an executive of the STC Group and a former president of the Rice Exporters Association.

The money would be better spent in paying farmers not to grow a second rice crop, he said.

He said the government had already lost more than 10 billion baht from the previous price-intervention programme, leaving about one million tons each of paddy and milled rice in the stocks of state agencies.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Monday that the government would take money from the stimulus budget to intervene in paddy prices for the 2001-02 season. The money will be used to buy paddy from farmers at above-market prices.

A target of 6,495 to 7,000 baht is set for a ton of fragrant paddy and 4,710 to 5,330 baht for general paddy. Market prices are about 5,000 to 5,100 baht for fragrant paddy and 4,000 baht for normal paddy.

The new programme plans to purchase 4.7 million tons of fragrant paddy and three million tons of white rice paddy from Nov 15 to Feb 28.