Posts falsely link Thai brand to selling government’s 10-year-old rice
A Thai rice brand has been baselessly linked to a scheme by the kingdom's government to auction off decade-old rice in July 2024. Official documents show that Benjarong Rice did not participate in the July rice auctions. There is also no evidence that the old rice was mixed into their packets.
"Benjarong Rice has received a quota of 10-year-old rice. Be careful if you’re going to buy it," read the Thai-language caption in the Facebook post published on August 26, 2024.
The image shows a pack from the Thai brand Benjarong Rice. The post claims it was purchased from a local supermarket on August 23, adding that the rice grains in the bag had an unusual colour.
The text on the bottom right-hand corner read: "free extra 250 grams" and "25th anniversary".
"I wonder if they are selling a mix of 10-year-old rice in the package," the post said.
The claims surfaced online after an auction for 15,000 tonnes of old rice stocks was completed on July 19, 2024.
The auctioned rice was part of the rice kept from Yingluck Shinawatra government’s controversial rice-pledging scheme from 2011. The rice had been stored more than ten years at two warehouses in northeastern Thailand.
Pheu Thai-led government was criticised for attempting to sell the decade-old rice in 2024, with experts questioning whether it is safe for human consumption (archived link).
The same image was also shared in similar posts stating that the anniversary packages indicated that the bag contained the decade-old rice batch.
The image along with similar claims were shared across Facebook and messaging application Line including here, here and here.
While AFP was unable to independently verify the rice quality in the package, the claim that Benjarong Rice’s company received a quota from the government’s old rice stocks is baseless.
Company did not participate
A keyword search on Facebook led to a statement on August 27, 2024, which was published on the company's Facebook page (archived link).
Asia Inter Rice -- the manufacturer of Benjarong Rice -- explained in the statement that the company was not involved with the bidding of the 10-year-old rice batch (archived link).
"The company neither participated in the government’s rice auction nor was it involved in any related transactions. The old rice stocks haven't been included in our rice manufacturing process definitely," read part of the statement.
Subsequent keyword searches on Google found this document published on the Public Warehouse Organization's (PWO) website (archived link).
According to the PWO, eight companies expressed interest in purchasing the rice and submitted their qualifications for initial examination.
Seven of the eight qualified, while Asia Inter Rice did not participate in the rice bidding.
Later on July 19, 2024, PWO announced the auction's result after several delays due to bidders’ qualifications and price negotiations.
Local media reported that two companies secured the rice bid valued at almost 250 million baht (archived link).
