A recommended price for rice, to be used as a reference under the government's price-guarantee scheme, will be announced every seven or 15 days to facilitate price subsidy.
The sub-committee on setting up recommended prices for paddy rice decided yesterday to use both Internal Trade Department and the Rice Millers Association prices as a reference.
Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, permanent-secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said the agreement to come up with a recommended price would ensure that farmers get fair payments from millers and traders.
"So far, the government has guaranteed the prices for white paddy rice at Bt10,000 a tonne and Bt15,300 for jasmine rice," he said.
The National Rice Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, will be meeting soon to make a decision on whether recommendations should be announced every seven or 15 days. The first recommendation should be announced before the price-guarantee project kicks off on October 1.
The recommended price for paddy rice will be derived from the market price of the grain, not including operational and logistical costs. At present, the market price for white rice stands at between Bt9,000 and Bt9,500 a tonne. If the recommended price is set at Bt9,000, then the government would have to pay farmers an extra Bt1,000 because its price-guarantee is at Bt10,000 a tonne.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the recommended price should be announced every seven days as rice prices change daily.
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