Suriya emphasized that the transfer of the Royal Rainmaking Department director is unrelated to his nephew, asserting the process was properly conducted. He wants to conclude this matter to move forward with work, plans to find ways to open an expo promoting Thai fruits, and has instructed the Royal Irrigation Department to prepare for El Niño impacts.
At 09:50 on 5 May 2026 GMT+7. Mr. Suriya Jungrungkit, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives. He gave an interview at the Government House regarding the transfer. Director Rachen Silparaya of the Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department. Regarding the transfer of Director Rachen to become an inspector general, he said it is now concluded. He has spoken about this many times and reaffirms that the transfer was consulted with the permanent secretary and all procedures were correctly followed. He wants to close this issue to continue focusing on the ministry's main missions.
When asked if Director Rachen’s resignation letter has been sent to the minister, Suriya said he has not seen it and does not know if it was forwarded to the permanent secretary. Asked about public doubts due to allegations of budget requests for personal business, Suriya explained that the issue involves his nephew, who is an airline executive. His nephew contacted Director Rachen back in July 2025, before Suriya became minister. After taking office, his nephew tried to reach Director Rachen directly.
. He was unaware of this until the transfer happened. His nephew’s direct contact did not involve any misuse of power, and his nephew never consulted him. Thus, the transfer is unrelated to his nephew. It is clear that the transfer has nothing to do with his nephew; it was meant to push the Ministry of Agriculture to better serve farmers and advance the ministry’s missions.
. Regarding Director Rachen’s claim that someone requested to review the 2027 budget, Suriya said if the transfer had not happened, this issue would not have arisen. People are now raising other matters, but he insists this can be explained. When he took office amid a new government, the Budget Bureau advised him to review the ministry’s budget proposals to the cabinet for potential changes, but no changes were made. If the public has doubts or concerns, he welcomes forming a fact-finding committee and is willing to cooperate.
Additionally, Suriya spoke about driving the ministry’s work since taking office, focusing on solving farmers’ problems. This year’s durian production is high, which may lower prices. He has learned from a Nakhon Phanom MP that durian inspection times at border checkpoints are too short, delaying exports. He wants to ensure durian inspections guarantee no contamination so exports to China will face no issues, thus plans to extend quality inspection times at border checkpoints.
Durian is the top fruit export but there are other important fruits as well. On 6 May, he will meet with a German expert in international fruit exhibitions to discuss organizing a fruit expo in Thailand to promote Thai fruits. Regarding El Niño, after reviewing dam water volumes, there are no issues—water is sufficient. However, areas outside irrigation zones face problems. Therefore, he has ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to prepare tools and machinery to handle these challenges.