BANGKOK, Oct 8 – The new round of rice pledging for the 2013/2014 harvest season, starting October 1, will cost the Commerce Ministry around Bt150 billion, according to the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
Luck Wajananawat, BAAC president, said the expected Bt150 billion in loans would cover rice purchase in the 2013/2014 crop, excluding paddy fields in the Central Plains and the Northeast which have been flooded and harvesting would be delayed.
Rice purchase for the delayed crop, expected in December-January, will cost about Bt5-8 billion, he said.
He said the BAAC would not need to reserve as much as Bt270 billion to buy rice in the 2013/2014 crop as the Commerce Ministry should pay about Bt220 billion from selling rice in its stockpiles to the BAAC via the Finance Ministry.
In addition, the BAAC was allocated Bt80 billion in the 2014 budget as its revolving fund for the rice pledging scheme, he said, adding that Thailand should be able to sell rice to China next year.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Yanyong Phuangrach said about 500 tonnes of rice had been sold to the government under the pledging scheme in the first week since the launch of the 2013/2014 programme.
The Commerce Ministry will buy rice from farmers at a maximum of Bt350,000 per household, he said.
