BANGKOK, Oct 1 – The cabinet today approved Bt4.3 billion for market intervention to shore up the falling prices of maize in the 2013/2014 harvest season.
Deputy Prime Minister/Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan said the subsidy will guarantee the price of maize with 30 per cent moisture at Bt7 per kg and 15 per cent moisture at Bt9/kg.
The government will also subsidise maize with 15 per cent humidity at Bt2/kg for exporters – a scheme that will cost the state Bt850 million. The total subsidy for farmers and exporters will be Bt4.3 billion.
Pakdiharn Himathongkam, deputy government spokesman, said the maize price intervention would involve 510,000 farmers, 280,000 of whom do their farming on lands with legal title deeds.
Besides the price intervention, the government has also granted financial assistance for transporting maize, he said.
The Cabinet approved the measures while thousands of the corn farmers gathered in front of the Chiang Mai provincial hall for the third day today to protest falling corn prices.
They demanded government assistance to shore up the price by guaranteeing the price of maize with 30 per cent moisture at Bt8/kg and for that with 14.5 per cent moisture at Bt10/kg.
