In Bangkok the barriers are holding to stop the floods

The Thai Prime Minister has said that Bangkok should be spared the devastation that the floods have brought to Thailand. “The impact to Bangkok will only be in the area outside the flood barrier,” Yingluck told reporters today at the city’s national flood center. Water levels in provinces north of the city have “started to stabilise”. With nearly 300 people dead, and 10 percent of the rice farms destroyed. “Inner Bangkok is the heart of the country and we can’t let it flood because that would cause vast economic damage,” Pracha Promnog, head of the flood center told the media. Read more ...

Warning of crippling cost in rice plan for Thailand

Under the government plan to return to a rice mortgage subsidy program, the former deputy prime minister Mr Devakula has warned the present government that it could cause a return to the loophole ridden problems of the past. The threat of taxpayers being hit with a 250 billion baht (€5.95 billion) bill and the program could also lose Thailand its status as the worlds top rice exporter. Both unhusked or white rice would be 15,000 baht (€356.882) per ton and jasmine at 20,000 baht (€475.843) per ton. The prices are about 5000 baht (€118.961) over the market value, the Yingluck Shinawatra government plan on launching the rice mortgage subsidy program next month. Read more ...