Limited impacts on fiscal health: Kittiratt
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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong insisted that the government would try to limit impacts of the rice-pledging scheme on the fiscal health.
He said that at the Bt15,000 per tonne pledging price, the government's fiscal discipline would not be affected.
Referring to concerns from several parties on the fiscal burden, he said figures prove that there is no such impact. For example, the public debt remains in a low level to the gross domestic product. Meanwhile, the current account is also in good health.
"It's in the plan to lower the pledging price. But as we're ready to maintain the price at this level for some time, we'll do that. I have to say that taking care of a number of farmers contributes to a higher purchasing power and a better quality of life. This narrows the income gap. I insist that our programme for farmers would require a reasonable budget, to uphold fiscal disciplines," he said.
