Cabinet gives nod to Bt62bn rice, rubber price guarantees

By The Nation

 

 

Tuesday’s mobile Cabinet meeting in Phuket approved a budget of Bt61.9 billion to help rice and rubber farmers via the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

 

The rice income guarantee programme for 2020-2021 will use Bt51.858 billion to retain this year’s subsidised prices. It will guarantee prices per tonne of Bt15,000 for unmilled Jasmine rice (14 tonnes maximum per farmer), Bt14,000 for unmilled Jasmine rice outside the promoted area (16 tonnes maximum), Bt10,000 for unmilled rice (3 tonnes), Bt11,000 for unmilled Pathumthani fragrant rice (25 tonnes), and Bt12,000 for unmilled sticky rice (16 tonnes). The subsidy period runs from October 2020 to May 2021.

 

Parallel measures include interest-free loans to delay the sale of seasonal rice between November 1 and February 29. Farmers will receive a deposit of Bt500 per tonne of stored rice, or Bt1,000 per tonne for farming cooperatives.

 

Also, farming institutions and cooperatives who add value to rice will be offered soft loans at 1 per cent from October 1 to September 30 next year.

 

Meanwhile rice merchants will be compensated for stocking costs from November 1 to March 31 next year. Merchants who store their rice for 2-6 months will receive 3 per cent interest compensation, with the aim of sustaining supply to stabilise prices.

 

For rubber planters, the Cabinet approved a budget of Bt10.042 billion to guarantee incomes. It will guarantee prices per kilogram of Bt60 for good quality raw rubber sheet, Bt57 for fresh latex, and Bt23 for rubber lump – each limited to 25 rai per farmer. Forty per cent of the guarantee payment will go to workers and 60 per cent to farm owners. The scheme runs from October this year to March 2021.

 

The BAAC will fund the scheme via central budget.

 

Prapat Pothasuthon, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, said approval for the rice price guarantee scheme came just in time as farmers will start harvesting in two weeks. The scheme will aid farmers hit by the current low rice price.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30397271

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-04

 

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Nod nod wink wink hey presto your 61.9bill has all gone in disbursements and next year's budget  umm ???? 

Don't be fooled into thinking the rice farmers will get all that.  Recently they were getting 8000 baht for ordinary paddie at the buyers weighbridge then when a bit of rain came the price dropped to 7000 baht then harvest cost and transport comes out, cost of producing the rice....

anyone remember the last rice scheme ? 

33 minutes ago, mr mr said:

anyone remember the last rice scheme ? 

 

Wife got 19 baht a kilo in 2014 BUT it took a coup to get it.????

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Cabinet gives nod to Bt62bn rice, rubber price guarantees

 

Is that a pledge?

1 hour ago, mr mr said:

anyone remember the last rice scheme ? 

 

Last year. 2019. Prayut. Only 21 B, but just for rice.

 

Suspect there is a rice scheme every year?

 

Guess you're talking about 2014/2015?

 

 

This country is finished....and this with borrowed money. How come it was bad when Yingluck did it but ok when the coup leader does it. Cue lorries full of cheap rice coming from Cambodia. 

Playing with the subsidised prices in Thailand will only allow the neighbours to move in and take the market share.. rice is slipping fast in Thailand, rubber is getting a boost only because of the rubber glove orders, apart from that they cannot compete.