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Thai Government helps farmers stabilise rice prices

The Thai government announced on September 1 that it will provide 2.2 billion USD in loans and handouts to farmers to stabilise prices of rice .
Thai Government helps farmers stabilise rice prices ảnh 1Illustrative image (Source: AFP/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Thai government announced onSeptember 1 that it will provide 2.2 billion USD in loans and handouts tofarmers to stabilise prices of rice – a staple food that has long played astrategic role in the country’s politics.

Specifically, the Thai Ministry of Commerce will offer 1.57billion USD in handouts to rice farmers and 633 million USD worth of loans to3.7 million households. The programme will be carried out from early Novemberto the end of February, 2018.

The announcement came a week after former Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra fled into exile ahead of a court verdict on the accusationof her negligence in a rice subsidy scheme that caused losses of billions ofUSD.

Last year, the government introduced similar short-termloans and cash handouts for rice farmers that cost the State 2.3 billion USD tocover four million households.

After hitting a four-year high earlier this year, the priceof Thai 5-percent broken white rice has tumbled by nearly 20 percent over thelast two months to 372.5 USD per tonne, its lowest since April.

The domestic and foreign consumption of Thai rice isestimated at 26.4 million tonnes this year compared to the supply of 29.5million tonnes.-VNA
VNA
#Thai government #staple food #Thai Ministry of Commerce #rice farmers #short-term loans #cash handouts #rice subsidy scheme #broken white rice #Vietnamplus #Vietnam News Agency Thailand
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