Cabinet cites volatile global market

NEWSPAPER SECTION: Business, WRITER: Wichit Chantanusornsiri

The cabinet has approved an extension of the government’s rice support measures, citing ongoing volatility in the global rice market.

Speaking after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said the Commerce Ministry proposed three matters for cabinet approval.

The first was a request to extend the interest compensation programme for rice traders who stored paddy from the 2023-24 production year.

The interest compensation programme was scheduled to end on Oct 31, 2025, but because the global rice market remains volatile, the ministry proposed extending it for another six months until April 30, 2026.

The interest compensation programme for rice stockpiling is a government measure to support rice traders by increasing liquidity to buy rice from farmers.

The government compensates interest costs at a rate of 3-4% per year for traders who borrow from banks to purchase and store paddy rice during periods when large volumes of rice enter the market. The programme is implemented on a production-year basis.

The second project concerns approval to reduce the loan limit per tonne for white paddy rice, Pathum Thani paddy and glutinous paddy under the paddy sales-delay credit programme for the 2025-26 production year.

The National Rice Policy and Management Committee reassessed rice prices using 90% of the average price as of Nov 4, 2025, which resulted in cutting the total loan budget from 36.23 billion baht to 35.01 billion, while reducing the one-off support budget for the programme from 9.16 billion baht to 9.01 billion.

The cabinet approved both proposals, and the Council of State ruled they do not create binding obligations for the next government and can proceed.

Another initiative aims to promote the cultivation of high-quality rice among a target segment comprising 200 farmer groups with a one-off budget of 120 million baht funded by the Farmers’ Assistance Fund, with additional central budget support if necessary.

The Council of State determined that implementation of the first phase would not affect the budget of the next cabinet, and it may proceed.

Regarding the paddy rice absorption programme for the 2025-26 season, with a target of 3 million tonnes, it is scheduled to run from the cabinet resolution until March 2027.

This programme requires a one-off supporting budget of 1.68 billion baht, drawn from the central budget and contingency funds. The Council of State determined this project would create obligations for the next government so it cannot proceed.

Published Date: January 7, 2026