Govt to buy up to Bt3.9 bn worth of rice to support price
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THE GOVERNMENT is prepared to spend Bt3.9 billion to absorb rice during the harvest season from November to February.
“The measure is aimed at preventing the rice price from falling,” Chutima Bunyapraphasara, permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said Thursday.
“The price of rice in the domestic market should average Bt8,000-Bt9,000 per tonne of paddy so that farmers will not get hurt from falling prices when supplies are abundant in the market,” she said.
The budget can buy almost half of total rice production, or 12.5 million tonnes from the 27.7 million tonnes of paddy expected to be reaped during the 2016-17 harvest season.
