Southern floods inflict 500-billion-baht economic damage; Economic Cabinet endorses four urgent recovery packages

• Economic Cabinet acknowledges over 500 billion baht in economic losses from southern floods
• Approves “relief and rehabilitation” measures for flood-affected communities, to be submitted to Cabinet tomorrow; Ekniti highlights one-year, zero-interest debt moratorium for households and businesses, plus SME soft loans of up to 15 million baht
• Interior Ministry asked to cut land and building taxes in affected areas to ease business burdens
• Commerce Minister Suphajee rolls out special Blue Flag schemes with repair-item discounts up to 80%, alongside plans to deploy franchise operators to create new livelihoods

On December 1, 2025, following a meeting of the Economic Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun jointly announced the government’s coordinated response to the southern flood crisis.

Ekniti said the meeting was held as a special session to accelerate support for flood victims in Hat Yai district, Songkhla, after the Prime Minister led the Economic Cabinet and senior officials to inspect the area on November 30. The visit exposed the scale of hardship caused by the massive flooding, prompting the government to adopt an integrated recovery and rehabilitation framework.

“The southern floods have caused extensive damage to the economy and property, affecting more than 2.9 million people and inflicting over 500 billion baht in economic losses,” Ekniti said, emphasising the urgency for swift and coordinated recovery measures.

The focus, he added, is to restore the local economy and residents’ livelihoods to normal as rapidly as possible. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has been assigned to consolidate all measures and submit them to the full Cabinet meeting on December 2.

Funding for various projects will come from different sources—some through standard budget allocations, others through Section 28 of the State Fiscal and Financial Discipline Act, allowing state banks to disburse funds upfront with the government reimbursing them later. Certain state-owned specialised financial institutions (SFIs) will also use their own budgets to support affected communities. Meanwhile, discussions are underway between the Bank of Thailand, the Finance Ministry and the Thai Bankers Association regarding central-budget support for commercial banks’ loan-relief schemes.

A low-interest soft-loan programme will be offered to affected SMEs, backed by guarantees from the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG), to help businesses resume operations.

Financing for the debt moratorium and soft-loan schemes will come from state SFIs, with all transactions recorded under a Public Service Account (PSA) to ensure fairness. If losses arise, the government will step in to absorb the impact.

Putting more money into people’s pockets

Earlier, the Finance Ministry had already increased emergency advance funds for provincial governors, granting 100 million baht per province with relaxed spending rules to accelerate on-the-ground assistance.

Additionally, deadlines for the payment of Social Security contributions under Sections 33 and 39 in affected areas will be extended.

Tax-reduction measures include:

• Extension of all tax and fee payment deadlines
• Personal income tax deductions for home repairs (actual cost up to 100,000 baht)
• Personal income tax deductions for vehicle repairs (actual cost up to 30,000 baht)
• Businesses may deduct double the expenses incurred in repairing flood-damaged property
• For donors, contributions made through approved charitable organisations will be eligible for tax deductions. As for private-sector proposals to reduce land and building taxes in affected areas, the Finance Ministry will coordinate with the Interior Ministry to consider the request in line with the needs of local businesses.In response to private-sector requests, the Finance Ministry will coordinate with the Interior Ministry on land and building tax reductions in flood-affected zones.

Lowering operating costs for businesses

Support includes:

• Exemption of customs duties on machinery and spare parts needed to replace or repair flood damage
• Waiver of state-property rental fees for affected tenants
• Reduction or cancellation of penalties for state procurement contracts
• Reduced water tariffs in disaster-hit areas
• Organisation of Blue Flag fairs to lower the cost of living, focusing on post-flood cleaning products and essential consumer goods
• Financial relief for producers of Geographical Indication (GI) goods
• Waivers of rental and hire-purchase fees where applicable

Other measures include: safety inspections by state enterprises covering housing structures, water systems, electrical systems and railway infrastructure; facilitation of partnership and company registrations; and deployment of Mobile Units, in cooperation with the Commerce Ministry and partner agencies, to provide onsite international-trade services, financial-statement filing assistance and shareholder-list support.

The Bank of Thailand has also been instructed to identify suitable measures—within legal boundaries—to support debtors of commercial banks and non-bank financial providers in a manner consistent with relief programmes offered by state SFIs.

Commerce Ministry outlines three-stage support plan

Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun said the ministry’s primary duty is to ensure sufficient, affordable consumer goods for the public. The ministry’s measures are divided into three phases:

1. Emergency phase

Focus: food security and price control

• Delivery of essential food items—eggs, rice and various raw ingredients—to community kitchens to provide immediate and continuous meals
• Cooperation with private retailers and supermarkets
• Strict price monitoring and anti-hoarding measures to prevent shortages

2. Relief phase

Focus: lowering repair costs

• Collaboration with major retailers and hardware chains—Big C, Lotus’s, HomePro, Global House—to reduce prices of home-repair materials, vehicle-repair items and essential electrical appliances
• Discounts up to 80%
• Priority supply of essential repair components including breakers, electrical wiring and spark plugs, especially for restoring motorcycle mobility
• Partnership with SCG to deploy repair tools, building materials and technicians into affected areas

3. Rehabilitation phase

Focus: income opportunities and business recovery

1. Special Blue Flag (Thong Fah) fairs, offering more than standard consumer goods
2. Mobile Units to bring goods and services to communities unable to reach main fair locations
3. Franchise support, involving deployment of franchise operators to expand income-earning opportunities; the Commerce Ministry will coordinate with the Finance Ministry and OSMEP to subsidise part of the franchise cost
4. Improved access to finance and business facilitation:
   • Department of Business Development working with SMED Bank to ensure small entrepreneurs can quickly access credit
   • Fast-tracked issuance of certificates, company registrations and relevant permits to help businesses resume operations swiftly