Bangkok, July 28 - Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, could set a benchmark price of 10,000 baht ($294) per tonne for white rice paddy under a new subsidy scheme it will introduce for the main 2009/10 crop, a senior official said on Tuesday.
That price would be equivalent to an export price for milled rice of around $550 per tonne, below the current level for benchmark 100 percent B grade white rice, which was quoted at $590 per tonne on Tuesday, exporters said.
"This buying price covers all costs of production and allows farmers to have around 30 percent profit," said Apichart Jongsakul, secretary general of the Office of Agricultural Economy, part of the Agriculture Ministry.
He said the price would be submitted for cabinet approval next week and the new programme could start in November, when harvesting of the main crop begins.
The proposed new guaranteed price is 15 percent lower than the intervention price that the government is paying farmers of 11,800 baht for paddy. That scheme is due to expire on July 31.
The government is estimated to hold the equivalent of 6 million tonnes of milled rice, a record high. That is hanging over the market and adding to the downward pressure on prices, one of the reasons why the government is bringing in a new plan.
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