Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai National Rice Policy and Management Committee (NRPC) has convened a meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, to assess the global and domestic rice situation for the 2025–2026 season and outline measures to support farmers and rice exports.
The committee reviewed and approved a framework for assistance to off-season rice farmers in 2025 to mitigate the impact of low global rice prices. Under the plan, farmers will receive 1,000 THB per rai (about 31 USD per 1,600 sq.m) for a maximum of 10 rai (16,000 sq.m) per household, with payments made directly to farmers’ bank accounts. This support will apply only to the 2025 off-season rice crop. A similar scheme will be applied to rice farmers in the 2025–2026 main crop.
On rice exports, the meeting approved the allocation of an organic rice export quota to the European Union (EU) under the Rice Department’s integrated organic and GAP rice market project for 2026–2028 period. The initiative aims to provide incentives and assistance to organic rice exporters to the EU. The Ministry of Commerce, through the Department of Foreign Trade, will allocate a quota of 1,700 tonnes of rice exports to the EU for the 2026–2028 period.
Participants also discussed the development of high-yield rice varieties suited to specific regions to enhance production capacity and meet international market demand, as well as the need to ensure sufficient seed supply for farmers. A working group comprising agencies responsible for both production and marketing has been set up to identify suitable varieties and address the issue of substandard rice quality affecting selling prices. The committee will report its findings to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) for further discussion./.
