September 3, 2009

The commerce minister in Thailand has instructed the Foreign Trade Department and the Public Warehouse Organisation to solve a discrepancy regarding the amount of corn in stockpiles within fifteen days.

Commerce Minister Porntiwa Nakasai has instructed the department to fix the discrepancy regarding the amount of corn in stockpiles, as the two agencies have different figures.

This discrepancy in figures has hindered the distribution of two quotas of corn. One quota has already been approved for distribution, while the other is intended to be offered to the highest bidder in an auction set to take place in the near future.

The two agencies have been given a deadline of 15 days to resolve the situation so that the winner of the previous corn bidding can move their purchase from the warehouse and further distribution can continue without delay.

The discrepancy stems from the fact that the figures of the corn stockpiles of the Foreign Trade Department differ from the real amount kept in the warehouses. The Foreign Trade Department will cooperate with the Public Warehouse Organization to find the cause of the problem and correct the discrepancy.

Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu, who is in charge of economic affairs, will be informed of this issue as he also heads both the national corn and the national tapioca policy committees, in a bid to develop guidelines to be used in the future to prevent this problem from happening again.

The current corn and tapioca distribution committees, both of which are presided over by the Director General of the Foreign Trade Department, Chutima Bunyaprapassorn, have failed to carry out distribution of both commodities within the assigned timeframe.

The Commerce Ministry will discuss table the results of corn and tapioca bids made on August 24th at the cabinet meeting this week, for consideration before official distribution of corn and tapioca can begin.