BANGKOK, April 6 (UPI) -- Thailand's rice industry is demanding the government scrap its 22-year-old price intervention policy, alleging the police has become corrupt.
The criticism is directed at the two government agencies running the price intervention program -- the Marketing Organization for Farmers and the Public Warehouse Organization. They are accused of inefficiency and a lack of transparency, reported the Bangkok Post Tuesday.
"It's too easy for state officials to conspire with millers or exporters to exploit the scheme, leaving it running inefficiently and wasting government funds," said Suwan Kathavuth, the president of the Thai Farmers Association.
Farmers want the government to set guaranteed minimum paddy prices, which would give farmers the ability to use future harvests as collateral against loans.
Pramote Vanichanont, the president of the Rice Mills Association, wants the government to spend more on research and development because rival rice producer, Vietnam, is planning to introduce fragrant rice this month, after an investment of $100 million in research.
