BANGKOK, 5 Aug 2013 (NNT) – The Commerce Ministry will hold talks with paddy farmers to finalize within this month the next season’s price of the Rice Pledging Scheme and measures to help farmers reduce their production cost.
Internal Trade Department Director General, Viboonluck Ruamrak revealed that the department has targeted to conclude the deal for 2013/2014 harvesting season within August. She said that the date of the meeting will be set soon and informed to related rice farmer associations. Such a meeting had already been cancelled twice.
Nonetheless, she expressed optimism that all parties would understand the reason and necessity behind the reduction of the pledged price to lower than 15,000 baht per ton promised by the ruling Pheu Thai Party in its election campaign. Miss Viboonluck added the Government would offer concrete assisting measures to mitigate the burden of paddy farmers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pravech Ongart-sittikul, Secretary General of the Office of Insurance Commission revealed that a meeting among the Fiscal Policy Office, the Thai General Insurance Association and his office had adopted a system of setting premium on the annual rice harvest in the upcoming 2013/2014 season, which would start in the middle of this month. The calculation would be based on rice zoning and risk rates, and compensations would begin in the 2014/2015 harvesting season.
According to Mr. Pravech, premium prices would vary according to rice zones. They begin from 120 baht per rai in the light green zone to 480 baht per rai in the riskiest red zone.
The red zone price tag has significantly dropped from the previous collection of 600 baht per rai.
Mr. Pravech said that compensation for natural disasters would be at 1,111 baht per rai, while that for pests and plant diseases would be 555 baht per rai. The government’s compensation for natural disasters remains at 1,111 baht per rai.
