Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has promised to settle millions of dollars in overdue payments to the country’s rice farmers.
“The government’s financial position remains strong enough to seek loans to fund the [rice] subsidy,” Yingluck said following the Cabinet’s approval of a proposal to draw 712 million baht (21.7 million USD) from the government budget to settle overdue payments for some 3,900 farmers.
The caretaker PM said her inability to pay the farmers is due in part to ongoing demonstrations, which have limited her government’s authority to make plans and decisions.
Deputy PM Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan did not reveal when the payment approved by the Cabinet would be disbursed, saying only that it would be “subject to consideration” by the independent Election Commission beforehand.
According to him, the Thai government is estimated to owe around 120 billion baht (3.68 billion USD) in payments to farmers who joined the latest round of the multi-billion-dollar subsidy programme.
In another development, the National News Bureau of Thailand on February 10 said the Commerce Minister will renegotiate with financial institutions for loans to pay farmers who sold rice under the state subsidy scheme.
Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisarn is expected to soon meet with executives of financial institutions on the ministry's plan to borrow from them to pay rice farmers.
Farmer protesters will be allowed to attend the meeting so that they will learn about the problems in paying them.
The rice-buying scheme introduced by PM Yingluck Shinawatra in 2011 pays farmers above the market price for their rice, making it uncompetitive in world markets. The government has found it difficult to sell and the programme has run into funding problems, leaving many farmers waiting months for payment.-VNA
“The government’s financial position remains strong enough to seek loans to fund the [rice] subsidy,” Yingluck said following the Cabinet’s approval of a proposal to draw 712 million baht (21.7 million USD) from the government budget to settle overdue payments for some 3,900 farmers.
The caretaker PM said her inability to pay the farmers is due in part to ongoing demonstrations, which have limited her government’s authority to make plans and decisions.
Deputy PM Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan did not reveal when the payment approved by the Cabinet would be disbursed, saying only that it would be “subject to consideration” by the independent Election Commission beforehand.
According to him, the Thai government is estimated to owe around 120 billion baht (3.68 billion USD) in payments to farmers who joined the latest round of the multi-billion-dollar subsidy programme.
In another development, the National News Bureau of Thailand on February 10 said the Commerce Minister will renegotiate with financial institutions for loans to pay farmers who sold rice under the state subsidy scheme.
Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisarn is expected to soon meet with executives of financial institutions on the ministry's plan to borrow from them to pay rice farmers.
Farmer protesters will be allowed to attend the meeting so that they will learn about the problems in paying them.
The rice-buying scheme introduced by PM Yingluck Shinawatra in 2011 pays farmers above the market price for their rice, making it uncompetitive in world markets. The government has found it difficult to sell and the programme has run into funding problems, leaving many farmers waiting months for payment.-VNA
