A panel that includes representatives from the Commerce Ministry and farmers will be set up to address low paddy prices and work out strategies to handle rice issues.

Boonyarit Kalayanamit, inspector-general of the Commerce Ministry and spokesman for Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya, said the panel would meet every two weeks starting from next week to discuss rice prices and how to stabilise them, with a goal of shoring them up at a minimum of 8,500 baht a tonne.

The minister called a meeting yesterday with five farmer groups — the Thai Farmers Association, the Thai Agriculturists Association, the Thai Farmer Support Association,  a network of Thai farmers, and the Community Rice Center.

They all agreed the new panel would play a vital role in sorting out farmers' problems.

Mr Boonyarit said the ministry pledged to work closer with the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to offer soft loans to farmers in the Northeast and Upper North, where rice barn owners have delayed rice sales.

The ministry is also committed to working out ways to improve the grains' quality, cutting production costs and raising productivity.

The ministry will also establish "Mr Rice", a new unit to coordinate with other rice-related agencies and monitor the industry and related issues.

Internal Trade Department figures show as of Tuesday, paddy prices this year with moisture of less than 15% were quoted at 7,500 to 8,200 baht a tonne.

In related news, Mr Boonyarit said the ministry had been accelerating sales of state rice stocks but noted a key stumbling block was rice quality inspections, which took time.

Rawee Rungruang, who leads a network of farmers, hailed the new panel.

It will allow the government and state authorities to hear and see their real problems so they could work out accurate measures demanded by farmers, he said.

Mr Rawee urged authorities to monitor paddy prices closely, saying the market was expected to feel the pinch in November and December, when the new harvest from the main crop would be churned out.

Source: Bangkok Post