Thai Government Agrees To Buy Rice From Farmers Affected By Low Market Price

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa BANGKOK, Nov 1 (Bernama) -- The Thai government has agreed to buy rice from farmers affected by the current low market price of the commodity, said Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantaporn on Monday. She said under a scheme targeted initially at the "Thai Hom Mali" (Thai Jasmine) rice farmers, the government would buy the rice at two different prices, US$329.24 (11,525 baht, US$1) per tonne and 10,995 baht per tonne. "The price of 11,525 baht a tonne will be for rice farmers who have silo facilities and 10,995 baht a tonne for those without silo facilities," she told the media after attending the Rice Committe Policy Meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha here. Households with 10-rai (hectares) paddy field were eligible for the scheme, with the government targeting to purchase up to two million tonnes of Thai Jasmine rice under the programme, she said. The scheme is effective on Tuesday and will be gradually extended to other types of rice. Meanwhile, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said the country exported 6.86 million tonnes of rice during the first nine months of the year worth 108 billion baht. Its President Charoen Laothamatas said the volume for the period was an increase of 3.7 per cent from the same corresponding period last year. He said Thailand shipped 790,000 tonnes of rice in September which was a growth of 9.9 percent year-on-year, citing African countries' resumption of imports to refill their diminishing stock as the factor behind the increase. The country is world's second-largest rice exporter after India. --BERNAMA