Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai stated today that the rice from the contentious rice pledging scheme of the Yingluck Shinawatra government, which has been stored in a warehouse in Surin province for over ten years, is still good and can be eaten.
Accompanied by the governor of Surin province, a group of journalists, and rice inspectors, Phumtham visited the warehouse yesterday to examine the quality of the grain. They also sampled cooked rice.
The minister mentioned that the rice was tender and edible, though its aroma has decreased due to years in storage. He also added that the rice in the warehouse could be sold at auction and might fetch 17-18 baht per kilogram.
He also mentioned that the rice needs to be rinsed about 15 times before being cooked, which, according to him, is not uncommon.
The commerce minister clarified that his purpose in visiting the warehouse was not to revive the rice pledging scheme, but to check if the rice's quality was suitable for sale.
He mentioned that there are approximately 150,000 sacks of rice in the warehouse, adding that if they could be sold to markets in Africa, they could generate up to 400 million baht.
He anticipates that a rice auction could take place next month at the latest, if the cabinet approves it today. He expressed a desire for the rice pledging scheme scandal to come to an end.
The scheme, which was initiated by the Yingluck administration, is alleged to have cost the taxpayer over 500 billion baht, as the rice was purchased at about 50% above market price. Both former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol were handed substantial prison sentences by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office holders.
