Prayut wants rising sticky rice price to be urgently curbed
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha called on the Commerce Ministry to urgently find a way of controlling the rising price of sticky rice, government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said on August 26.
She said that in response, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit ordered the Department of Internal Trade to see if sticky rice is being hoarded and to prevent such action right away.
Jurin has also told the department to talk to rice traders, millers and related parties and have them package sticky rice and sell it at an especially low price to the public.
The price of sticky rice has jumped due to drought, which has affected both in-season and off-season planting. The situation is expected to improve after the latest crop is harvested in October.
Meanwhile, one rice vendor in Phayao province lamented that she has had to purchase sticky rice at Bt1,950 per sack, compared to Bt800 per sack over the past few months. She said this high price is forcing her to sell the rice at a high price of Bt35 per kilogram, adding that other vendors are selling the rice for as much as Bt40 to Bt45 per kilo.
As of August 16, the price of paddy sticky rice stood at between Bt13,900 and Bt17,600 per tonne, up from Bt9,549 per tonne late last year, while white sticky rice was between Bt38,500 and Bt38,600 per tonne, up from Bt19,610 per tonne.
