Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra will stand outside a shopping mall in Samut Prakan Friday to sell rice directly to consumers.
This is the second time for her to sell rice bought from farmers in the Northeast. Last Saturday, Yingluck managed to sell 10 tonnes of jasmine rice bought from farmers within an hour outside the Fashion Island shopping mall.
The former PM joined farmers and volunteers Thursday to pack a tonne of jasmine rice to sell Friday as part of her campaign to help farmers as the price of rice continues to drop dramatically.
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Yingluck will be selling the rice at Bt20 (S$0.80) per kilogram from 4pm outside the Imperial World Samrong shopping mall in Samut Prakan.
The former PM announced the event on her Facebook page, and is calling on her supporters to help purchase the rice at a fair price for farmers.
“To encourage and help farmers sell the jasmine rice at Bt20 per kilogram, I would like to ask people in Samut Prakan and my fanpage followers to help purchase the rice from farmers,” she wrote on her page Thursday.
Also helping Yingluck pack up the rice Thursday were her son, Supasek Amornchat, as well as Pheu Thai politicians including the party’s acting secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai and farmers from the Northeast provinces of Roi Et, Surin, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani and Maha Sarakham.
The price of rice recently tumbled to its lowest since 2008, triggering not only state agencies but also private and people sectors to initiate various campaigns to help sell rice in a bid to give farmers a fair price for their harvest.
Reuters, The Nation/ANN
