The Rice Policy Committee will hold a meeting on Thursday to final the guarantee price of maize, cassava and paddy rice.

Ennoo Suesuwan, acting president of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, said the meeting will also consider amendments to some conditions under the government's price guarantee programme. For instance, it would change determine the quantity of rice under the programme by its value.

Ennoo also pointed that if the government agrees on the condition, the government has to raise its budget to compensate the price gap from Bt25 billion to Bt40 billion.

The money spent in the price guaranteed programme will come from the "Strengthen Thailand" project. It is expected that compensation for maize and cassava will reach Bt18.5 billion and that for rice at Bt25 billion. 

Source: The Nation