The Commerce Ministry will seek a Bt63.3-billion budget from the Cabinet to facilitate subsidy programmes for 11 farm goods this year.

The programmes are aimed at guaranteeing farm sector incomes amidst dropping agricultural prices. Of the total budget, Bt10 billion will be set aside for operation costs, and Bt53 billion will support pledging programmes for 11 products, comprising rice, maize, palm fruit, tapioca, rubber, sugarcane, egg, chicken, pork, shrimp, and fruits.

However, Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai has not reached a conclusion after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Kobsak Sabhavasu yesterday about the source of financial support.

Commerce Minister Pornthiva said yesterday the government is giving priority to the farm sector as it is an issue of concern to a major part of the population.

For instance, foreseeing continuously low rice price, the ministry plans a budget of Bt30 billion in the upcoming second crop rice harvest season for at least 2.5 million tonnes of rice.

A Bt8-billion budget for maize price guarantee will be for a total of one million tonnes this year, at a rate not lower than Bt7.50 per kilogramme. A budget of Bt9 billion will go for 200,000 tonnes of palm fruit, with a guarantee price not lower than Bt3.50 per kilo. Bt6.7 billion of the budget will go for rubber with a guarantee of not lower than Bt50 per kilo.

Yanyong Phuangrach, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the budget of Bt63.3 billion will be used for intervention, while the ministry has set aside Bt1.38 billion from the government's supplementary budget of Bt100 billion for agricultural products marketing scheme.

Of the total, Bt480 million will go for establishing up to 20 silos to stock farm goods of the government from the price intervention programme. Silos have high efficiency in stocking farm products while maintaining good quality of products in the long run.

The ministry will spend a budget of Bt350 million to set up farm outlets as a distribution channel to release stocks of farm goods from the government stockpiles; Bt25 million for promoting central community markets in each province; Bt10 million for managing farm goods in the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand; Bt70 million for conducting business matching between farmers and traders; and Bt150 million for employing new graduate students into the farm sectors.

Moreover, the ministry will set up an early warning programme for farm goods to ensure that farmers will not suffer from dropping product prices in the future.

Under the early warning system, the ministry will set up the appropriate price calculation based on cost of production and some profit for each farm product. If the ministry finds the price has dropped to below the set price, it will immediately intervene in the market by using its measures to help farmers such as via the price intervention programme.

In addition, the department will on Monday conduct a meeting with those groups to set up intervention projects systematically and increase cooperation among farmers, traders and the government agencies

Source: The Nation