Thailand's rice-pledging scheme to be transparent

BANGKOK, October 10 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong has promised to make the Thai government's rice-pledging scheme most transparent for the stability of the administration and its credibility in the eyes of the international community. The deputy premier, who oversees economic affairs, admitted that some 25 corruption cases have been detected related to the rice-pledging scheme, causing some 300 million baht of damage, even though the scheme is considered a good policy to raise local farmers' income, vowing that tough legal actions will be taken against the offenders. Meanwhile, Thai Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom insisted that the government can sell rice from its rice-pledging scheme, with only about 4 million tonnes of grains now remaining in the official stock. (TNA)