Korbsak shrugs off lawsuit on rejection to sell tapioca

BANGKOK, 8 November 2009 (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Korbsak Sabhavasu, is indifferent after having a lawsuit filed against him for taking the resolution of the National Tapioca Committee to the cabinet, resulting in rejection of the government to sell tapioca to China.

Advisor to the Commerce Minister, Thanaporn Sriyakul, is preparing to file a lawsuit against Mr Korbsak and related officials at Dusit Police Station on Monday regarding the refusal policy to sell tapioca to the Chinese government. Mr Thanaporn reasoned that the deputy prime minister was abusing his authority.

As a response, Mr Korbsak said that it was the right of the advisor to file such a lawsuit if he deemed that Thailand would lose any benefit for rejecting such a proposal. He confirmed that he had to do so otherwise he could not provide answers about the differences in prices of tapioca sold to Thai private companies and the Chinese government.

Tapioca is sold to Thai private firms at 8,300 THB per ton but will be sold to the Chinese government at only 7,960 THB per ton. The deputy prime minister said he did not want the government to experience more losses as the government had spent a lot in price intervention via the crops pledging scheme. The government at present has about 300,000 tons of tapioca in stock.

The deputy prime minister admitted that the crops might be sold if they were sold for non-commercial purposes. He added that the resolution of the Tapioca Policy Committee also did not cease the trade but indicated the related units to conduct renegotiation with the Chinese counterpart.

Mr Korbsak then confirmed his authority, as the committee chair and the deputy prime minister overseeing the Ministry of Commerce, to bring the resolution of the committee to the cabinet’s meeting. He reasoned that he did so since Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai was absent and consideration was urgently needed for the issue.