Soft loans to farmers for rice storage
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BAAC to lend up to Bt23 bn in bid to shore up market prices
The Rice Policy and Management Committee yesterday approved a budget for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to provide Bt23 billion in soft loans to encourage farmers to keep rice in their own warehouses so they do not need to accelerate sales during the upcoming harvest season.
After the meeting, Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya said this measure was aimed at holding back about 2 million tonnes of paddy rice from the market, particularly in the Northern and Northeastern regions.
The aim is to ensure that the market price of rice does not decrease too much during the harvest season that begins early next month.
Under this programme, the BAAC will provide loans amounting to 90 per cent of the rice values, so that farmers can avoid interest burdens and other costs related to rice sales.
Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said this measure should keep the paddy price of hom mali (jasmine rice) at Bt15,000-Bt16,000 a tonne, and paddy sticky rice at Bt13,000.
About 6 million to 7 million tonnes of paddy rice will be harvested from the upcoming main crop.
To manage white rice in the government stockpiles, the meeting agreed to continue releasing rice through various methods, such as auctions and government-to-government contract, Charoen said.
In addition, Thailand is expecting to join in bidding for sales to the Philippines, which should be opened soon.
Paddy white rice is currently trading at about Bt8,000 a tonne, he added.
