Yanyong Puangrach criticized the Anutin government for failing to manage the country effectively, including addressing flooding in Hat Yai and the declining rice prices impacting farmers, and demanded clear explanations on the outcomes of G2G rice sales with Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
2 Dec 2025 GMT+7 Mr. Yanyong Puangrach, former Deputy Minister of Commerce, spoke about the issues concerning Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul's government, which has failed both in resolving flooding problems and the falling rice prices, causing severe impacts on tens of millions of people.
Mr. Yanyong further stated that regarding the flooding, the Prime Minister has already admitted fault and apologized to the public. However, concerning rice prices and farmers' incomes, the government has yet to take serious action aside from promoting large-scale G2G (government-to-government) rice sales to foreign countries. At this stage, the Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Supachai Suthumpan should clearly understand their roles, as the public wants to see tangible results and real benefits, such as how many tons of rice have been sold through G2G deals, at what price, how this has affected the actual prices farmers receive for paddy rice, and the revenue from rice exports entering the country. The public does not want to see a Prime Minister who works tirelessly but achieves no concrete results, such as merely showcasing cooking skills to distribute food to flood victims.
Mr. Yanyong also revealed that Minister Supachai's claims in the media about successfully selling several hundred thousand tons of rice to the governments of Singapore and Saudi Arabia may be just empty words. He questioned whether actual purchase contracts exist, how many tons have been ordered from these two countries, whether prices were suppressed, and which private sector agencies the government assigned to procure, process, and deliver the rice. He asked how many tons have been delivered so far and over what time period. If delivery is set over several years or beyond the rice harvest season, G2G rice exports would not benefit farmers because the rice would have already been sold by them.
Regarding the current rice price situation, Mr. Yanyong believes prices have not surged as the government claims through media. Overall, the price of 5% broken white rice under the Anutin government has fallen to the lowest level in history. Jasmine rice prices have improved slightly, comparable to the period under Srettha Thavisin’s government in November 2023. Relevant stakeholders agree the Anutin government has been very slow in helping farmers, having only convened the National Rice Policy and Management Committee (NRPMC) for the first time on 18 Nov 2025—two months after forming the cabinet, or halfway through the government's term—after farmers had nearly completed harvesting and selling broken white rice at a loss, while farmers in the northeast and north had already begun harvesting and selling jasmine rice at very low prices.
Moreover, the government's price support measures are the same as previous administrations’ efforts, such as compensating for rice storage costs to delay sales, which have yet to be implemented because the cabinet has not approved them. He expressed deep disappointment with the Anutin government and Minister Supachai, as he had high expectations but, upon closely following their work, concluded that “The Anutin government has failed to manage the country, both in solving the flooding in Hat Yai and southern regions and in addressing falling rice prices and farmers’ incomes. I feel sympathy for farmers nationwide, especially those in the south and Hat Yai, who suffer due to an incompetent government they did not elect but which came to power through political accident.”