Thai authorities promise to give rice farmers a fair deal

The Commerce Ministry is monitoring the new harvest season of paddy rice, with a plan to implement support measures as approved by the National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC) to help farmers. Wittayakorn Maneenetr, a spokesman for the Commerce Ministry, said the Internal Trade Department is monitoring the price of paddy rice for the 2024/25 harvest. It was found that around 13.4 million tonnes of paddy rice have been released into the market, or 50% of total production. Rice prices have steadily risen for Thai hom mali fragrant rice paddy, Pathum Thani rice paddy, and mixed-glutinous rice paddy due to a reduction in the amount of stock in rice mills. As of Nov 15, the average price of 15% moisture content rice paddy was 10,550 baht per tonne, up by 500 baht per tonne. However, due to a high amount of rainfall in the Northeast, the moisture content has increased, which resulted in a reduced selling price. Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has ordered the provincial commercial ...