Photo credit: Ministry of Commerce
Critics have strongly criticized the government’s proposal to market rice that is a decade old, claiming that it is an attempt to cover up the losses incurred from the rice-pledging scheme during the previous administration of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
They argue that the initiative to export the ten-year-old rice will damage Thailand’s premium rice reputation on the global market.
Despite the backlash, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai defended the government’s decision, stating that the sale of the remaining 15,000 tonnes of rice from the controversial scheme aims to generate revenue and minimize storage expenses.
Phumtham projected that the bidding process could yield around 270 million baht and help cut down on storage costs, which currently amount to 380,000 baht per month. The aged rice is being considered for export to Africa.
Recently, Phumtham, along with officials and journalists, inspected two rice warehouses in Surin province to demonstrate the edibility of rice pledged a decade ago. He even ate cooked rice from the warehouses to prove its safety for consumption.
The minister assured that the stored rice had been meticulously maintained, frequently fumigated, and protected against external elements like birds and rainwater. However, skeptics argue that the rice’s apparent good condition could be attributed to prolonged fumigation over the years.
The move to sell the aged rice has stirred controversy, with concerns raised about public health implications, particularly if the rice has undergone numerous fumigation cycles over a decade.
Some experts likewise drew parallels to past political gestures, such as former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s fried chicken eating spectacle following a bird flu outbreak in 2004.
The rice-pledging scheme instated during Yingluck’s tenure, lasting from 2011 to 2014, was a massive intervention in the rice market that resulted in significant financial losses.
After the scheme’s conclusion, a substantial surplus of rice, amounting to approximately 18.6 million tonnes, remained. Under the administration of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in September 2018, most of this surplus was sold off, generating substantial revenue.
Critics view the current efforts to promote the aged rice as a thinly veiled attempt to erase the past negative perceptions associated with the rice-pledging scheme and the previous government’s actions. Concerns about potential health hazards related to the aged rice continue to persist among the public and experts.
